


Another Try

by Neils_Pen_To_Paper



Series: The Trying Universe [2]
Category: Original Work, The Trying Universe
Genre: -slaps roof of fic- this baby can fit so much hurt/forgiveness in it!, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Canon Disabled Character, Child Death, Forgiveness, Gun Violence, High School, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Missing Persons, Multi, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Shooting, Sign Language, Tags to be added, Time Travel, Undescriptive mention of birth, Vampire Bites, mention of cults, mute character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24465883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neils_Pen_To_Paper/pseuds/Neils_Pen_To_Paper
Summary: When someone you love dies, what do you do now that they’re out of your life?
Relationships: Blackstar/David, Blackstar/David/Horris, Langley/Bectro/Homeboy
Series: The Trying Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691152





	1. Prolouge and Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of a journey nobody wanted to go on.

_When someone you love dies, what do you do now that they’re out of your life?_ _Will you carry on, not letting it affect you, or will you carry their legacy on? Or will you go down with them?_

 _This was the question that Blackstar Starr pondered almost every day for an entire year._ _He was devastated when he learned that his father died. Though he was bedridden with a rare cancer, TinyStar was strong. But it seemed like some… feral thing ripped his heart out, and it made Blackstar’s sad spiral deepen. Countless nights were spent sobbing into pillows, hiding in his empty feeling house, and wandering the cliffs of the nearby sea._ _After his death, TinyStar’s body was donated to science. He left so many items, and previously designated all his clothes and all of his hats to be burned, and the ashes buried. The ceremony to bury it was shoved aside, however, as the old house the detective and son lived in burned down, almost everything the Starrs owned in it._ _But the day finally arrived, a whole year later, when the ashes could be settled into the earth._

#  **_Chapter One_ **

Blackstar watched as the ground beneath his shovel finally gave way. He removed the dirt and set it next to the hole he was making. The urn containing the ashes rested behind him, as his grandparents watched. He made no sounds as he dug, he didn’t cry, the sting was dulled to a gentle throb- a simple lump in his throat. Once he made a deep enough hole, he placed the urn inside. His grandparents walked up to the hole, and they looked at the golden orange urn nestled deep in the earth.  
“I wove you.” His grandfather, Trackstar, softly muttered as he let out a soft sob.   
“I’ll miss you...” Trackstar's girlfriend, Ariel, said. She rested her head on Trackstar’s chest. Blackstar looked sadly at the couple. They had been going through many relationship troubles ever since TinyStar died, but they were peaceful for this reunion of father and son, at least. Blackstar couldn’t say anything, choked up. He looked down, and his grandparents placed their hands on his shoulders, and comforted him. No one said anything, but the whispers of the wind and splashing of the sea spoke volumes the older Starrs could never. Blackstar grabbed his shovel, and finally buried his past.

His grandparents left him to his thoughts. Blackstar stayed silent, not even acknowledging their departure. He sighed and looked up at the sky, where the planet’s blood red moon was rising. He hiccuped a quiet sob. Blackstar remained at the burial site, and he started to ‘talk’ to his dad.   
“D-dad… I wish I could have been with you in your-” He said as he kneeled down. His old phone began to ring, startling him. He jumped, his legs giving out and he fell onto his butt. He took it out and felt a little mad, being interrupted by the phone. The number was from an out-of-area code, not one he recognized. He answered it, curious. But before he could say anything, a woman’s voice spoke.  
_“_ _Hello? Is this the number for Blackstar Starr?”_ She asked. Blackstar nodded, stuttering his words but still spoke.  
“Y-yeah… Who is this..?” The woman grunted from the other end.  
_“This is Tuo Zed. Just to confirm, TinyStar Starr is… dead?”_ She asked with a very sad note in her voice.   
"Y-Yeah. Uh...” He wet his lips as Tuo spoke again.  
_“Hmm… Okay. I will pick you up, then. I’ll call Trackstar to let him know.”  
_“K-know what? A-and wh-why are you-”  
_“Son, this is your mother, your_ actual _mother. I’m going to get you back.”_ Blackstar’s jaw dropped and he started to shake a little.  
“A-aren’t you dead?! Y-you died a while ago!” He asked, fear ripping through his body. Laughter came from the other end.  
_“Oh God, no, the one who died was my double- you know how we all have a double, right?”  
_“Yeah?”  
_“Well, I'm the true Tuo, the one your father fell for. Too bad I couldn’t marry him. But thank the stars that bitch got herself killed!”_ She said. Blackstar heard a door open. _“Hello- Ah, okay. Blackstar, I'll be there on July 30th around 5 am. Pack up everything. You're coming to live with me.”  
_“W-wait! N-no! Why?” He asked in a ‘rebuttal’.  
_“Because? I’m your legal guardian. I know it’ll be weird living in a big city, but I know you’ll get used to it.”_ He could hear the smile that the woman wore from her voice. _“We-”_ He heard people and a man howling loudly in laughter on the other end. She sighed. _“Guys, I’m on the phone! Can you please-”_ The woman pulled away from the phone to talk to the people.  
He also pulled away the phone and sighed loudly, out of frustration and sadness. “W-why do I have to le-leave…?” he grumbled lowly.  
_“Blackstar!”_ Said the woman, and Blackstar put the phone back up to his ear. _“I have to go! I’ll see you soon, okay?”_ She said.  
“Y-yeah, I-I guess… I’ll see you then..?”  
_“Mhm. I can’t wait.”_ She softly laughed and hung up. Blackstar looked at the number again, and decided to add it to his contacts. He labeled it as “Mom(?)”, and looked out to the sea. The gigantic red moon loomed over him, casting a glorious scarlet glow on the ocean’s waves. He sat there for what seemed like hours, listening to the soft splash of the waves on the beach and the leaves gently whispering a mourning song for the fallen detective. He found himself talking.   
“You can rest easy now, dad. I’ll take the torch, and carry on…” The world grew still, and Blackstar closed his eyes and listened. The wind continued to sing their song, the ocean crashing, and leaves hissing. He wished he never had to leave.

_“Blackstar!”_ A voice called out from behind, breaking the lull he was in. He recognized it as Ariel’s voice. _“Blackstar, come here please!”_ He got up, dusted off his pants, then walked the path to his grandparents’ backyard, leaving the blood-washed cliff to its enchanting grief.

Ariel stood on the back deck, shivering as Blackstar walked up to her. She had a worried expression on her face. “Your grandfather got a call from your mom. Looks like you’re going… there… huh?” She said, softly. He nodded, a little sad.  
“I-I guess… I barely re-remember being there… B-but do I really have to go back?” He said with a sad sigh. Ariel frowned, and nodded.  
“Unfortunately, yes. It’s the law. But you can still see us. Don’t let this be the end of your happiness, it’s… like the start of a new adventure!” She chuckled, smiling softly. Blackstar softly smiled and nodded. She was always optimistic, but as of late she never shone her brighter side around Trackstar OR Blackstar.  
“Y-yeah… I guess it is!” He said as he went inside to pack his things.

A month and a few weeks passed, and it became the day Blackstar’s entire life would change. Blackstar sat on the front porch, his several suitcases resting at his feet. He sighed and he looked at his small phone, waiting for another call from his mom. He heard the front door open, and turned to see his grandpa coming out. His face was drawn into a worried glare.  
“I’ll miss yowu.” He said as he sat down. “I hatwe seewing yowu weave, I-I wish I couwld take custody of yowu.” He leaned onto Blackstar, a semi-hug, and looked to the twilight hazed horizon. Blackstar sighed and put his arm on the older Runner's shoulder, completing the hug.  
“I-I know… I’ll see you again, alright? I’ll call you when I get there, okay?” Trackstar nodded. His face looked skeptical.  
“Okay.” Blackstar gave him a tight squeeze.  
“I love you, pop-pop.” He said, eyes misty. They stayed like that, silent and waiting.

After a few minutes, a blue-green van pulled up to the house and the passenger window rolled down. There sat a beautiful woman, with sunglasses obscuring her eyes. The top of her head was covered in a light blue scarf, and her glasses looked like it reflected stars. She smiled at Blackstar and Trackstar, and got out. Blackstar felt hurtful nostalgia pierce his heart, like she was a scarred over wound that had been opened again. She looked vaguely like Ariel, but more… beautiful. She was short, but very strong- her biceps gave Blackstar the impression she could destroy Mr. Strength in a single punch. Despite that, she was fairly stout. Blackstar felt she looked pregnant. Her hair, though partially covered, went all the way down her back, almost touching the dirt. It was dark brown, just like Blackstar’s tangled mess of hair. Her mouth was all smiles. Blackstar’s heart hurt more and more as he looked at her, she was almost an exact replica of Blackstar, minus his Runner features.  
She walked to the two men on the porch and spoke. “Hello, Blackstar, and… Trackstar, is it?” She presented her hand, and Blackstar shook it. Trackstar nodded and stood.   
“Y-Yeah. Youw were actuwally TinyStawr’s wife?” His voice was laced with a genuine shock Blackstar had never heard from his grandfather. He put his only hand up to his mouth, covering it. “Youw look nothing like I expected…” The lady nodded.   
“Ah… Yes, I was.” Her voice was deceitful, and Blackstar knew she was lying. “I was so… lucky, to have such a nice man as a… husband.” She frowned. “But, now isn't the time to mourn. Blackstar, we’re so excited to have you live with us, but I hope it isn't too big of a change.” She said with a sweet, motherly voice.   
“W-we..?” Blackstar asked.  
“Yes..? My husband and I, You have a foster brother, a-and your half-brother, from your dad’s side. Well, that’s what he said, anyway… They are in the car.” She said. She gestured to the door of her van. Blackstar’s head was spinning.  
_‘I have a half-brother?’_ A thought echoed in his mind. He nodded, confused, but grabbed his bags. With the help of his mom, he placed them into the trunk of the van and he got in.

A Runner-hybrid boy was sitting in the middle of the seats, a small grin on his lips. He had two different colored eyes, the right eye a light teal and the left a dark blue, and had a faded scar under his right eye. He had long, wavy hair, which was a dusty gold. Blackstar understood what his mom meant by ‘half-brother’.  
_‘He does look like dad, a bit…’_ He thought. The Runner said nothing, just looked back at him.  
A second boy sat next to the Runner, a huge grin on his cheery and freckled face. His hair was a fluffy black-and-orange mop, two small locks sticking up from the back of his head. The boy had bright blue eyes, a white shine making his pupils look like pie-wedges. He had fair, pale skin, but not the white that Blackstar or his half-brother had. It was clear he was a human. Blackstar stared at the two for a good minute while the van drove away from his old home.  
“Well, uh, hello brother!” The human finally said. “I’m Izikeal Hollie! You can just call me Hollie, though. I’m your big brother now!” He said with a happy voice. Blackstar smiled nervously and nodded. “This is Homeboy!” He said, patting the other boy on the shoulder. “Well, he hasn’t actually told us his real name, so we call him Homeboy.” He said with a defeated sigh.  
“Guess. Entertainment.” Was all ‘Homeboy’ said. Blackstar looked at him, and thought a while. His mind knew the name, almost instantly, though he paused on whether to say it so quickly.  
“HoneyStar.” Blackstar muttered, looking over Homeboy with slit eyes. He paled, even more so than his normally off-white color. He coughed and looked away, looking spooked.  
“Correct… How..?” He asked.  
“Your hair is honey colored! And D-dad never was good with names…” Blackstar said. Homeboy looked baffled, but didn’t press Blackstar more.  
“Well, let’s uh… talk about the city! It’s a huge place, just full of amazing sights and cool places to hang out. When I get the chance, I'll take you around!” Hollie said. “And! And, We can show you off to my friends! They’ll love you, especially Bectro!” He said with a cheery tone.  
“... W-who is Bectro? They sound f-familiar.” Blackstar asked. Fear pricked his heart with twin swords.  
“Bectro’s a dog-kid we know, he lives in our apartment building with his dads. He's a real loud mouth, but a hoot to be around.” Hollie explained. “He’s a bit of a poet, but he’ll play nice, I promise.” Homeboy laughed, and looked at Hollie.  
“He’s soft. Cried at cats.” He simply said, with not a mocking tone, but one a boyfriend would use when talking about their lover. Hollie nodded and laughed.   
“Yeah. That was so cute! He sobbed over the fact he got licked by a kitten!” Hollie laughed a little more.   
**“Alright kiddos, we’re getting to the gates~.”** The driver said. **“Soon we’ll be home, Blackstar~.”** He purred in a confident manner. Blackstar looked to the man and saw it was someone strangely familiar.  
_‘Coach Bee?’_

The van passed through a large tunnel and a toll booth, where the city opened up. They drove through the crowded streets, alight with life and cars. Blackstar marveled at the sights, there had to be more people on the street than there was in the whole of Plainstown! Two people stood out of the crowd-- a short Runner in a dark suit, wearing sunglasses, talking to a taller human, clad in red. The man had a huge mane of hair, longer than Tuo’s tangled mess. Blackstar saw the red-dressed man slip a hand over the Runner’s shoulder. The Runner looked to be luring the guy into an alley, but the van turned a corner before Blackstar could be sure.

They pulled into a parking garage next to a large skyscraper, where the family got out and helped Blackstar with his things. They made their way to the front of the building. The steps to the building were blocked by a group of slick haired, black coat wearing, delinquent looking humans. ‘Coach Bee’ approached them, talking to the largest man.   
**“Thanks for meetin’ us here~.”** The man nodded, guestering to the building.  
“Stay safe.” He gruffly said, looking at Blackstar, before jutting out his hand. Coach Bee’s lookalike shook hands with the man, and the group left in an idle car.

The family went into the building, and to the lobby. There, Tuo explained to Blackstar of the apartments; Whole floors were dedicated to a single housing unit. When they caught the elevator, the Coach Bee lookalike pressed the ‘8th’ floor, and the loud mechanics began their ascent. When the doors opened, Blackstar was in awe. The living room was bigger than the ground floor of his old home, and richly decorated too. A couch faced the doors, where a short, chubby, white dog man was sitting. He had a black shadow over where his eyes should've been, and two sharply upright ears. His tail, thin and pure white, was thumping against the couch multiple times, until he started talking.

“Oh! Y'all are back!!” He joyfully barked, wagging his tail faster. The family funneled in, Blackstar the last to enter. Homeboy beelined to the couch. The dog-boy leaped off of the couch and over to Tuo, like a puppy would when his owner returns home.  
“Heya, Langley.” Blackstar’s mom said. “Thank you for watching our house while we were gone. Here’s your money.” She said as she handed him 15$. He smiled and pocketed the money and went over to Homeboy. They silently chatted while Hollie helped Blackstar with his bags. “You two, help Izikeal please.” Tuo called as she walked out of the room, into what looked to be the kitchen. The two boys, making fake groans of protest, got up and ushered Blackstar deeper into the house.

“So! Who’s the new guy?” Langley asked while the band of brothers made way to the bedrooms. He was behind Blackstar, sniffing at his clothes and frowning. “He looks mighty frail to be Desert City material.” He said quietly to Hollie.  
“Oh, hush! This is Blackstar! He’s my baby brother! And he was born here, dumbass.” Hollie said, lightly poking Langley's face.   
Langley 'rolled' his eyes and followed the three young adults to Blackstar’s room, which was a guest room. It was a huge room, larger than any room Blackstar had in Plainstown. There, all 4 men helped organize Blackstar’s clothes, place miscellaneous objects, and helped him set up his bed. He pushed it into a corner, despite Hollie’s protests. They all took a small break, and Blackstar opened a small suitcase on the floor. 

Langley rushed over. “Ooh~! What's this?” He chirped as he snatched a gross looking, olive stained notebook. Blackstar stiffened and he felt his heart sink. “Is this a secret diary~?” He taunted, while Blackstar frantically tried to take it back.  
“N-no! That was my dad’s!” He yelled as Langley pushed him away. “Please don't ruin it! Tha-that's one of the only things I have left of him…” He weakly said, his eyes stinging with tears. Langley frowned. He shoved the book back into Blackstar’s arms, and rolled his eyes.  
“Whatever. I heard your dad was a pretty shitty detective.” Langley smiled. Blackstar softly smirked, remembering how his dad joked repeatedly about his incompetence. “He was so bad, he was only put on one official case! Even then, he fucked up an interview, beating poor our Coach Zed.” Hollie stood up and threw an empty suitcase at Langley, not using his hands. He playfully yelped and dropped to the floor, despite the suitcase missing him by three feet. Blackstar froze, mystified at the act.  
“Langley! That’s enough! Now please apologize.” Hollie sighed. Langley, on the floor, snarled with a giggle at Hollie.  
“Don’t apologize. You-you’re right, Langley.” Blackstar laughed, tracing the warped pages. “He always said he was never supposed to be a detective. I-I think he once said he wanted to be a bartender.” Everyone was silent, listening to his words with bated breath. He held up the book, opening it to the first page. Langley scrambled over to see the writings.  
“What’s it about?”  
“It’s about his case, the o-only one he did. It’s p-pretty interesting to see the shift a-after he realized The Ugly One was abusive! He went f-from being overly peppy- he used so many exclamation points and tiny drawings- to being somewhat cynical and overly harsh! He-he e-even… wrote when he w-wa-was high an-and or drunk.” He gave a shy smile. Hollie drew in a sharp breath, while Homeboy cleared his throat.  
“D-did he ever… do anything-”  
“To me? N-no. He, u-uh, he did go out and swim in the ocean wh-when he needed t-to clear his head.” Blackstar smiled, seeing old images of his dad drunkenly swimming, while he yelled at him to come inside. “He gave this to me when he died. Left it for me in his will. I-It’s the only thing I have left of, w-well anything, because a fire in our house destroyed everything else.” Blackstar explained.   
“Tragic. Sorrow.” Homeboy said, getting up and hugging his half-brother. “Apology.” Blackstar chuckled softly. Hollie also gave Blackstar a hug, Langley giving him a soft leg punch.  
“I’m sorry, dear brother.” Hollie said, nuzzling his face into Blackstar’s back.  
“D-don’t apologize! You d-didn’t cause it… A-and I do have to ask, h-how’d did you throw the suitcase w-without touching it?” Hollie giggled from behind Blackstar, patting him on the head.  
“Telekinesis! I was born with it! Many humans in this city have mysterious powers like that, so try not to be surprised when you see something odd!” He cheerfully explained, squeezing his brother tighter.  
“T-that’s pretty cool!” Blackstar smiled, to which Homeboy nodded.  
“Time travel better. First hand experience.” He plainly said, voice monotone. “Very fun.” Blackstar nodded, eyes wandering down to the notebook in his hands. He opened to the first page, and heard Langley shuffle closer.  
“W-would you all l-like to hear his s-story?” A chorus of ‘yes’s rang out, to which Blackstar began to read.

With the final page over, the Pack was silent. Nobody said anything. The door to the room suddenly creaked open, and they all looked up.  
“My, my… I never knew he wrote… like that.” Tuo stood there, hands over her stomach and tears threatening to spill over. She had removed her sunglasses, in favor of regular glasses. Her eyes were a bright white, her sclera black. She had Black Eye Syndrome, just like Blackstar! He smiled at this, instinctively yet only slightly.  
“I can't believe what he went through,” She finally growled, “I should've never left…” Blackstar cleared his throat.  
“W-well, if it’s anything, I forgive you. I-it wasn't actually your fault…” He mumbled, looking at his mother. She grinned, sadly, and walked over to his bed and sat down.  
“Thank you, my little love..” She smiled sadly. She cleared her throat, and smiled softly. “I have something to say to all of you, if you don't mind.” She said. They all eagerly nodded.  
“Oh! What is it?” Langley asked, his tail wagging fast. He was shushed by Hollie, who nodded to his foster mom to carry on.  
“Well, Coach and I have been thinking and planning, and we’re having a baby. They’re due in a month or two.” She announced. The boys gasped and Hollie cheered, while Langley congratulated the woman.  
“Baby..?” Homeboy asked. “Gladness. Congratulations, birth giver.” He said.  
“Oh, don't be so formal!” She laughed. “You can call me mom, you know.”  
“W-wait… A new baby..? A-and so soon after I-I’m here..?” Blackstar asked, worried.  
“We were planning way before we knew about… all this. But, don't worry! We have room and money to spare!” She said. “We have the entire eighth floor to ourselves, remember? This place was built for comfortable living, even with large families.” She explained, placing a soft hand to his cheek. Blackstar nodded and yawned. Everyone yawned in response.  
“Well, I’ll be heading off! Have a good night, y’all!” Langley said as he walked out of the room and house. Tuo left the room, Hollie and Homeboy going to their separate rooms. Blackstar laid, staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. He lowly hummed along with the songs that softly played from an old record player he had. He closed his eyes for a second before the world went dark.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School, drinks, and investigating. You sure this isn't the prequel?

#  **_Chapter Two_ **

_Weeks later, on August 4th, 2109._

**_“HELLO BLACKSTAR! I SEE YOU'RE SLEEPING! THIS IS A PERFECT TIME TO GET ACQUAINTED!! I NEED YOU TO DO SOMETHING FOR ME BEFORE WE CAN, THOUGH. YOU NEED TO GO TO THE SCHOOL, GO TO THE PARK IN THE SCHOOL, AND FIND ME.”_ ** That damned voice. He’d been talking to Blackstar in his dreams ever since he got to the city, which was two days ago. The man sounded like a broken record at this point, he just repeated ‘go to the school’ until Blackstar woke. Blackstar didn’t even know where a park would be, although he did visit the school, to be registered for extra-curricular activities. Blackstar had already finished Plainstown College.  
 ** _“I CAN TELL YOU’RE DOUBTING ME. SO, I’LL GIVE YOU THIS. YOU'LL KNOW WHERE I AM ONCE AN ARMLESS BROTHER COMES ALONG. HE’LL BE A HANDFUL, BUT IT’LL BE WORTH IT!”_ **Now that was new… **_“I CAN ALSO GIVE YOU THIS, MY BROTHER’S NAME IS MARVYIN. C_** ** _AN YOU DO THAT FOR ME?_ ** _**I** _ _**CAN'T VISIT MY BRO ANYMORE BECAUSE MY FACE IS… OBSCURED. I CAN ONLY TALK HERE BECAUSE YOUR POWERS- YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WITH THE PROPHET SIGHT! SO, PLEASE-”**_

“Wake up! It’s school time!” A loud voice broke the haze of sleep, waking Blackstar. Blackstar hissed, covering his face. He felt tired, his head pounding with his heartbeat. The voice he dreamt of was quickly disappearing into the back of his mind. "Come on, sleepyhead!" Hollie removed the pillow, grinning large.   
“What… W-What time is it?” Blackstar asked. Hollie smiled slyly.  
“It’s four am!” Blackstar loudly sighed, and flopped his head back onto his bed.  
“Wh-Why’d you wake me at four?” He grumbled to his brother.   
“We always wake up at this time! We get to school early enough to have breakfast, and not be late!” He said. Blackstar frowned and sighed. “Don't be like that! I’ll introduce you to all my friends, and we’ll have a nice, yummy breakfast! And we'll get to school _so_ early, the fountain will still be pumping water!” Hollie rattled off. “Oh, speaking of friends, I still have to wake them! Get ready! We'll walk to school!” He raced out of the room.  
Blackstar got up and looked over to his side table, where a small analog clock sat. It read ‘4:13’. He looked over- only to see Homeboy. Homeboy smiled at Blackstar, who jumped. He tossed a backpack at him.  
“School near. Located… city center. Great cafè. Always open. Get dressed, short things. Too hot here. City desert.” He said as he walked out of the room. Blackstar sighed and got up, looking out the window to his right, seeing a gorgeous red-purple skyline. He stretched out his tired limbs, and began to get dressed.

Once in a loose shirt and short jeans, Blackstar made his way to the elevator, holding tightly to his backpack. Tuo, Homeboy, and Hollie were talking. “Ah, finally, you're up.” Tuo said. She gave him a small wad of cash, and a kiss on his head. “Have a good day! I love you.” She purred. It felt so natural that Blackstar wasn’t shocked, at least, for a minute.  
“I-I love you too, m-mom!” Blackstar said. He hugged her and nodded to the other boys.

They entered the lift and went to the 3rd floor, where Langley and Bectro shared a floor, their parents co-renting it.  
“That is Bectro’s side. His parents, mostly Metronome, get hissy when woken up so soon.” Hollie explained as they waited in the living room. He was pointing to the other side. The room itself was sparsely decorated, one couch and a small, tattered loveseat the only interesting items in the room.   
“Yeah. Bectro’s almost ready. I heard we got a newbie.” A deep rumbling voice growled from behind an opening bedroom door.   
The door opened, and out came a dark grey and red pelted, anthropomorphic wolf, sleepily rubbing his one unscarred eye. He was missing his right eye. He was tall, though his massive ears were just under Hollie’s chin. His front two paws were red, just like the fur on the top of his head. His one remaining eye was an icy blue, but had oddly bright red stripes in it. He looked very tired, but not at all angry.  
“Oh, sorry Metronome! Did I wake you?” Hollie asked as sweetly as possible.   
“No, no. Bectro was noisy, so it’s fine.” Metronome said in a rumbling voice. It made Blackstar shiver in a good way. “Anywho, Blackstar, huh? I used to know your dad. I assume he’s dead?” The werewolf bluntly said. He sat down on the couch, right next to Hollie.  
“Yea- he- uh, yeah.” Blackstar sputtered out.  
“Tch.” Metronome snarled and let out a long yawn, then looked to the group of 19 to 20 year olds. He didn’t say anything else. They all sat in comfortable silence for a while.  


 ** _“_** ** _Bectro is almost ready.”_ ** Another unfamiliar voice murmured. A black pelted wolf man stood by the door to his complex, his sleepy, spiraling, abominable eyes stared into Blackstar’s. He was tall too, but much shorter than Hollie, who was the tallest of the Desertites he’d seen, at 5’8. They all towered over Blackstar, who was only 5'1. His fur was one solid color, unlike Metronome’s fur. The elder wolf smiled gently at Blackstar, but Blackstar began to sweat and feel horrified.  
“Hey, love.” Metronome said. The two older men kissed before Metronome spoke again. “Blackstar, this is my husband, Bec, Bec Quirrel.” Bec nodded at the horrified man, who gripped his backpack as his ears began to ring. His sight blurred with tears, and he found it hard to breathe- It was like he was going mad.  
 _“Blackstar? Are you okay?”_ A faint voice asked. Blackstar could barely hear them, he shook his head and stood.  
 ** _“I-I H-HAVE TO GO!”_** He shouted in an unfamiliar voice. He ran to the elevator, pressing the call button. It opened and he went in, closing the doors quickly on his worried friends. He pressed the lobby button, and leaned against the farthest wall, sighing a shaky breath of relief as the noisy lift went down. 

However, the machine picked up a man on the 2nd floor. He was human and looking at his wrist-watch, a bit agitated. Blackstar saw it was the same man he saw on his first day. The man still had long bronze hair, almost as thick as a lion’s mane. It touched the floor and curled at the ends. The man’s peachish skin was blotched red, making Blackstar think he was very frustrated. The eyes of the man were a grey blue, sparkling with small stars around his pupil. He looked almost like a painting of a person, not an actual, real human.  
 ** _“Seventah, come on. I can’t be late.”_ ** He hissed under his breath. The man’s face was drawn into a frustrated scowl. Blackstar felt he knew that voice from somewhere, like a dream he couldn't remember, or an agreement he forgot. His voice made the fringes of his sight turn red. The man looked up to the terrified 19 year old. **“You okay, there? You look like you’ve seen a murder.”** He said, his face growing worried.  
“I-I guess you could s-say that…” Blackstar muttered. The man’s face grew more concerned. “I re-remembered something f-from my past that still makes me… s-sick…”  
 **“Huh. Well, just know that everything passes. It may hurt now, but it’ll change- hopefully.”** The man smiled. **“You get what I mean?”** Blackstar nodded.  
“Yeah… Thank you.” He said. The man smiled and nodded.  
 **“You seem like a kind kid. A slice of advice; keep your chin up and mouth sealed.”** His tone shifted. **“You never know who’ll try to take advantage of you, so stay sharp an’ quiet.”** Blackstar gulped, and nodded fearfully.   
“O-okay…!” The man gave him a soft pat on his shoulder.   
**“Sorry if I scared ya. Most Desertites can handle bein’ spooked, but you’re not one-”** The door to the lift opened. **“Ah, my stop. Take care, Curly.”** He said, walking out of the apartments. Blackstar walked with him, stopping at the front doors.   
"T-take care…” He softly murmured to no one.

 **_“BLACKSTAR!”_ **His brothers yelled as the elevator’s door opened again. He turned and saw Hollie, Langley, Homeboy, and a black-and-red pelted wolf man. He was massive, taller than Hollie. His two bright blue eyes looked at Blackstar with worry. He was chubby, and had zero clothes on- Blackstar noted the thick fur probably covered his more sensitive areas. His paws and legs, tail tip, and head fur were red, just like his father. He also had a red beard-like marking around his mouth, flowing into a large beard of fur that hung on his chest. The group tackled Blackstar. The black dog’s massive red paws clasped Blackstar’s shoulders as Hollie hugged Blackstar tightly.   
“You had us all worried, your brothers were like the sea during a storm, trying to get to you.” The newest member said.  
“Yes! Please don’t run off like that!” Hollie said, hugging Blackstar even closer. “I was so worried!”  
“S-sorry… I-I was… That o-other wolf… Bec… As-as soon a-as I saw hi-him… I just… lost it...” Blackstar said to the crowd. Everyone looked at him with worry, and the wolf man frowned.  
“I… I’m sorry, Blackstar. My father… He does that… He gives powerful people fear, so harsh they’d go mad. But, I suppose this means you’re strong.” The pup said. Blackstar let out a shaky breath, and nodded.  
“Well… Maybe getting out and into some fresh air will help!” Hollie cheerily suggested. He ushered everyone out of the apartments, and out to the predawn city.

“Oh wow, you were right! The fountain is amazing!” Blackstar said out of wonder. The whole Pack was in front of a large, bronze fountain, depicting a wolf looking over the Earth. The wolf was leaking water out of her eyes and open mouth, but it was slowly being reduced.  
“One thing about Holly-berry,” Langley said, “he never lies!”   
“That’s not true! I lied a lot when I was younger!” Hollie rebutted.   
“Who cares, the past is but a sand grain in the beach of Time. It’s time to dump out our shoes and go swim.” Bectro, the wolf pup, snarled.   
“...” Blackstar, confused, looked at Homeboy, who smiled.  
 _“All the time. His thing.”_ He whispered. 

“Oh, man!” A sudden sad hiss came from Hollie. “Well, I guess Jonas isn’t meeting us here. He just texted me that he’s running late.” Hollie said, looking at his phone. “Let’s go in. Blackstar, you’ve got your schedule, yeah?”   
“U-uh yeah! You guys want t-to see?” He grabbed the paper copy of his classes and showed it to the Pack. Hollie, Homeboy, and Langley frowned while Bectro smiled.  
“You have many classes with me!” He happily woofed. “All but first hour!”

Many kids began to walk into the large plaza, all chatting or looking at their phones. “Ew…” Bectro lowly growled. Blackstar looked at the crowd, but didn’t see anything wrong.  
“Yeah… Go.” Homeboy said, and they headed into the large school. Blackstar didn’t follow. From in the crowd Blackstar saw the red-clad man he had seen in the elevator running into the plaza. He caught Blackstar’s eye and smiled wide. Blackstar waved, before being pulled into the school.

It was 7 am, and Blackstar was in his first hour class. Many rowdy kids were joking and being loud, but none approached the new kid.  
A large paper airplane landed on his desk, and he looked to it then up at the person who threw it. It was a white and brown cow-like person. From what Blackstar saw, she was fat, with thick and coarse white fur. Her hands, ending in hooves, were brown- almost like she was wearing gloves. She had a long curly tail, also brown. The curly hair on the top of her head was the same dark brown as the rest of her body. She smiled at Blackstar, and turned to a black, cat-like man who was sitting on her desk. The man smiled at her, and waved at Blackstar when he caught him staring. Blackstar quickly unfolded the airplane. He read it, feeling sweat form on his forehead as the feline-looking man looked at him.

 _“Dear new kid, I am RoseThorn! I hope you enjoy this class, it’s my favorite! I’m not talking to you in person because I’m mute. I do use Sign, though! When you learn more, maybe we can hang out more? If not, I can still write you notes! Have a good day! ~ RoseThorn Starr.”  
_ Blackstar smiled, and looked up from the note’s neatly written handwriting. The black cat man was still looking at Blackstar, while speaking to the cow kid- RoseThorn. His eyes, seemingly millions of them, looked at him with an inquisitive quirk. Blackstar looked back down, fearful at the cat’s gaze. He reread the note, looking over the signature at the bottom.  
 _'W-wait hold on.'_ He thought, and looked at the name closer. _'S_ _tarr?! Are we related!?'_

The cat man walked over. He placed his hand on the desk, making Blackstar look up to the strange man. _"Hey, you. You’re new here, huh?”_ He said in a muffled voice. Blackstar nodded, sweating.  
“Uh, y-yeah..?” The cat gave a slight nod, looking at the desk.  
 _“Huh. I’m uh… sssS-Star…”_ He said in an unsure way. Blackstar could tell he was lying, an odd taste forming on his lips. _“Nice ta meet’cha.”_ Blackstar nodded again, a small smile on his face.  
“N-nice to meet you too! I’m-”  
 _“Oh, I know your name, Blackstar. You’re… quite famous around here, bein’ ‘etectiveStar’s son.”_ His million eyes were staring holes into Blackstar’s two.  
“O-oh..?” The bell rang, starting class. The ominous cat, face unchanging, nodded and walked away, sitting adjacent from RoseThorn. Blackstar frowned, and put the note away. 

He thought how strange it was that a person would wear a cat fursuit, especially to a place like a school.

The day passed quickly, and the Black Pack left school. When the Pack broke away, it was just Blackstar and Hollie. Homeboy went back to the apartment to put all their things away, and Langley and Bectro went with him. The duo walked down an alley, heading toward the apartments. They were chatting about the group’s relationships.   
“So, like, _I_ really like Langley, but _he_ is dating Jonas, but _Jo-_ ” Hollie suddenly stopped. _“He’s new…”_ He whispered.  
“H-hum..?” Blackstar said, looking to where his foster sibling was looking. A man was smoking a large cigar outside a 2 story building, with a faded neon sign above the door. The man, purple skinned with long and dark violet hair, flashed a hand sign- a greeting that Blackstar learned that day. Hollie smiled and signed a message back. The man grinned and started to speak in Sign, with Hollie relaying the info to Blackstar. He could understand very small snippets without him, but was totally lost on the whole ordeal.

“So, they got a new bouncer, but! This is a bar, but they still serve younger folk from 3:30 pm to 10 pm.” He said, smiling. “I always go here! Maybe we can find the rest of our clan here?”   
“What a-are we, cats?” Blackstar jokingly said. Hollie smiled and chuckled.  
The man cleared his throat. _“I-if y’all don’t hurry up…”_ Blackstar thought he sounded like the nurse that mainly looked over his father- Will. _“I’ll b’ forced t’ make ya mosey on.”_

The two boys went for the door. Blackstar and Hollie walked into the bar, ‘Courier’s Saloon’. A bell rang when the door opened, and the four or so patrons looked up to see who it was. A white pelted wolf lady, who wore many scars on her face, lifted her long snout and jerked it to the right, seemingly to point.   
“He’s over there.” She rasped.  
 **“Woah, hey, it's Curly!”** A familiar voice said. Blackstar turned to see the man, the same one that he had seen in the elevator and the plaza. He was in a dirty bartender outfit, faded red and black vest replacing his dual toned sweater. He looked excited as the duo walked up to the bar.  
“Oh, hey Jonas!” Hollie said, smiling. “You know him?” Jonas nodded. “When did you two meet?”  
 **“Oh, you know…”** He looked off and smiled, like it was a coy secret. **“In an elevator…”  
** “U-uh okay? But, wait, I thought you got arrested! Did yo-”   
**“Not now, Halls.”** Jonas said, suddenly. **“What are you guys doin’ here, anywho? The legal age to drink is 20.”** He smirked, playfully. He placed small drink holders in front of the two 19 year old boys, as well as an empty glass on top. They sat down.  
“Well, you should know! It’s ‘underaged people drinking non alcoholic drinks’ hour! And, u-uh, we haven’t talked much, you know, after your arrest…” Hollie laughed nervously to ease the tension in his chest. The bartender laughed back, soft and sweetly.  
 **“I know. Now, what’ll you two have?”** He asked, calm and cool. Blackstar was confused, but he spoke up first.  
“I-I’ll take a sprite… regular, p-please.” Blackstar said, fiddling with his pants.   
“I’ll have a cherry coke.” Jonas smiled and nodded.   
**“Of course. I’ll get your drinks.”** He started getting them their drinks. 

The bell from the door rang, and chuckles filled the sleepy bar. Langley’s voice rang out, but it was hard to understand due to his overexcitement. A chorus of laughter came from the 3 men, Homeboy and Bectro accompanying the white dog. Hollie smiled and waved to them. They all raced over and sat down at the bar.  
“Hey guys!” Hollie greeted. 

“Hello.” "Greeting." Homeboy and Bectro said. Langley smirked over to Jonas, not acknowledging Hollie’s greeting. The bartender smiled faintly and handed him a cooled glass of milk, a seemingly regular occurrence for the two. Bectro asked for blood, and Homeboy asked for a sprite, cranberry. Jonas, reluctantly, gave the two very weird men their equally odd drinks.  
“So!” Langley turned to Blackstar. “How’s the city, Blackstar?”   
“I-it’s cool! Apparently I’m famous, because of my dad..? I-I think?” Everyone raised an eyebrow at this.   
“I hadn’t heard of you before.” Bectro said. “Other than from my parents.”  
 **“I… didn’t know who you were, an’ I know a lot of people.”** Blackstar could feel the lie in his teeth as Jonas spoke.  
“... Odd.” Blackstar muttered.

“So, Jonas, they let you keep your job?” Langley asked, taking a small sip of his milk. _“You didn’t tell me…”  
_ **“Yeah, they did. GeeGee let me keep it, as I help with everything in here. Even then, I didn’t do anything severe! I only, uhh, s-sold moonshine, ran a drug cartel, and tried to seduce a police officer. But it was just to take over a friend’s business!”** Everyone in the bar went quiet. The wolves at the table coughed, awkwardly.  
“T-that’s kinda severe…” Blackstar said. Hollie nodded, and Langley, Homeboy, and Bectro voiced their agreements. Jonas sighed and waved his hand.   
**“It’s whatever. I’ve been cleared of all charges, ‘cause the city’s officials are afraid of what I can do.”** He laughed. Blackstar cocked an eyebrow.  
“Jonas here is a very powerful man! He has these crazy powers, and he can, like, uh, do all sorts a’ strange things!” Langley said to Blackstar. “Most humans have powers, but Jonas' are stronger than anyone else’s!” Jonas laughed and shook his head, then turned to a sink of dirty dishes. A loud shout and a few thumps came from the front door.

 **“Well, yeah. He’s right. Buuuut… I've got to get back to work, so-”** Loud police sirens cut Jonas off, as a very short man in a dirty tuxedo coat and a tall, dirty brown hat rushed in, limping. He wore what looked to be tall, black gloves, and had tight, untorn, black leggings on. He held a bundle of clinking items inside a plastic bag, and he was covered in bruises and blood. He stopped for a split second to look at Blackstar. He shook his head and limped away to the back door of the bar. No one seemed to acknowledge the man, except for Blackstar. **“Wonder what the police want, they never harass us.”**

 ** _“DAVID CULLERON, WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED. COME OUT AND SURRENDER.”_** A man said, voice amplified from a megaphone. The four mysterious patrons looked to each other, then to Jonas. He frowned and opened a small hatch above the sink, where food would be placed to serve. A gigantic, pinkish-white beak came out and whispered softly to Jonas, who nodded and relayed the information to the bar patrons. 

**“Everyone, please go upstairs and wait. GeeGee says to be patient and not to worry.”** Jonas gave a worried smile. The older patrons all went upstairs, while the younger men at the bar stayed put.  
“Jo, should we go upstairs too?” Bectro asked. Jonas shook his head and grabbed a walkie-talkie. He talked into it, getting a response from a woman who confirmed Jonas' plan.  
 **“Okay, you six can go upstairs, but enter the door to the left. Just don’t question anything you see in there.”** He said. The six boys abandoned the drinks and walked up to the second floor, and to a room that had a faded sign of flowers and illegible text.

The room was large, with a huge, heart shaped bed on the rightmost wall. All along the walls were powdering stations, like ones straight out of the 1920’s. Many pictures on the stations were of very provocative women and men, seemingly to claim the mirrors. Blackstar's mind was racing as he sat on the large, plush bed. While waiting, Hollie played with his hair, trying to get two locks to stick up like his own hair style. It did nothing to make him feel calmer. Loud shouts from the police outside were getting more and more hostile, and Blackstar feared the worst. Then, louder yells and protests came from downstairs, the protesting sounding like Jonas. The door to the bar downstairs banged open loudly, as if the police stormed in.

Before he knew what was happening, Blackstar was already out the door and onto the catwalk. There he saw Jonas pinned to the floor by the short man from before, a knife to his throat. Jonas was struggling against the criminal, but it was somehow a losing fight. Police had their guns aimed at the two, ready to fire. The man was static and so were the police. The man pressed his knife harder against Jonas' throat, and Blackstar gripped the railing in fear.

He saw blackness cut into his eyes and felt everything around him blink out of existence, a ‘Vision’ clouding his eyes and ears.  
 _“A man, torn between power and love, must make a choice to destroy those he loves or-”_ A harsh voice cut off the dramatically speaking lady, her voice like the sea.  
“Or to give away his strength for a love that is fleeting. Stay hopeful, my little Star, your time to act is upon you! Blackstar, you must survive this!” Ariel’s familiar voice said, racking Blackstar with a familiar hurtful nostalgia. 

His sight came back at the sound of guns firing and people screaming. He saw that Jonas and the man were bleeding, blood coming out from bullet holes in both of their chests. But, Jonas had his throat slit, clearly the short man attacked. Hollie was hugging Blackstar tightly and shaking like a leaf, while Langley, Bectro, and Homeboy were screaming at the police. The man quickly got up and ran past the startled police, who didn’t even react to him. The others didn’t seem to see the man escape, either. The lions- policemen- roared into their walkie-talkies and ran out of the bar.  
“JONAS! N-no, Jonas! _God, please, no-”_ Langley raced down to his dying friend, everyone following. Langley whimpered loudly, holding Jonas' hand to his crying face. The rest of the Pack stood by, idle as Jonas bled out. Jonas took his last breath, and the bar stood still for a moment.

Then, a large breath was drawn in as Jonas sat up. **“Sorry to keep y’all waiting.”** He said. Everyone screamed, Blackstar in fear and everyone else in excitement. The gun shot and slit throat were closing quickly, almost as if being painted in.  
“You’re back!” Langley cried, hugging his boyfriend tightly. “I’ll never get used to you coming back!” Jonas pried himself out of Langley’s vice grip, a huge smile on his face.  
“H-how in the world..?” Blackstar asked while Jonas slowly got up and moved to the bar. “How are you alive?!” He cried.  
 **“I just can't die, Star Kid.”** Jonas said. **“But, now, I need to get back to work, and uh, clean this blood. See you guys later, maybe.”** He shrugged. **“I doubt it, though.”** He said cooly, and resumed cleaning the dishes in the sink, while the 4 older patrons came back, paid their fees, and left. The Pack of 5 men finished their drinks and started for home, one unsettled and the rest giving silly theories on how Jonas' seemingly unlimited lives worked.

While the Pack made their way home, Blackstar couldn’t help but think about the disgusting yet dapper man that ‘killed’ Jonas. He was so lost in thought that he was left behind as the other 19 year olds went into the apartment. He idled in front of an alleyway, muttering lowly about who the large fanged, hat wearing man was.  
 _'David Culleron… I haven’t seen anything on the news about-'_

He was suddenly grabbed from behind, a hand gripped around his muzzle and an arm wrapped around his throat. Feet dug into his hips and made Blackstar stumble backwards. He could smell their foul breath, and felt how cold it was against his cheek. It made him flush, olive blood rising to the surface of his soft, pale skin. He thrashed and tried to get away, but his attacker was strong. He felt the person kick his spine softly, but it made him fall like a house of cards. The person quickly moved into the alley, lifting him into the air. Blackstar stopped struggling, his eyes catching a woman who just shook her head, confused and disappointed. That made his heart sink. 

His attacker rounded into a small clearing, littered with gross, warm trash cans and foul smelling boxes. Blackstar saw a fire escape ladder above a set of boxes, Jonas' sweater and gloves resting on them. He still couldn’t get a good look at who held him, however. They must’ve been underneath him, though he was only a foot off the ground. He was shoved into a green, upturned dumpster, hitting his head on a cut-out seam that, Blackstar guessed, his attacker cut out. The inside was hotter than the outside, but was surprisingly roomy. A ragged, old pillow rested in the center, along with an equally deplorable dog bed. He was tossed on it, finding it freezing. It was very dark in the makeshift home, but he saw the faint gleam of eyes and long, sharp teeth in the dark. His head throbbed from where he was hit, and his heart pounded.

“W-what do y-you want?” He asked as the man’s hand released his mouth. He was shocked when the taste of iron hit his tongue. He backed up a bit, lifting himself onto his butt better.  
“I’m not gonna to hurt you, I _just_ want an answer.” The mysterious person rasped. He placed a wooden board over the entry of the dumpster, blocking all light. He still saw that the man’s eyes glowed, albeit slightly. He lit a small lamp, and Blackstar saw it was Jonas’ attacker, David Culleron. He was covered in dirt and grime, and dried blood covered his mouth. His skin was pale white, just like Blackstar’s own. His pure black eyes bored deep into Blackstar’s, inquisitive and kind. The glowing disappeared.  
“I-I don’t know anything..!” He tried to make a get away, but David grabbed his ankle and held down. He squeezed, hard, and got a soft yelp from Blackstar.  
“No no, not _that_ kind of information! Do you know _Detective_ Star?” Blackstar winced as his father’s name was brought up. “It's just, you look _so_ much like him...” He asked. “Well, now that I think about it, more _smell_ than _look_ …” He half muttered to himself.  
“Y-yes. I-I'm his son, s-sir.” Blackstar stuttered. The warning Jonas gave him barked in his mind, making Blackstar inwardly cringe. _‘Don’t get too chummy, man.’_ He thought. David removed his grip on Blackstar and moved his attention to a corner of the dumpster. He grabbed something from a darkened corner of the to-lean, sighing softly.  
“Oh good! I knew his wife _was_ pregnant, should’a _guessed_ she kept it.” David nodded and dug around in the small trash bag, glass clinking around. Blackstar watched as David stretched, sat down and began to drink some weird red fluid. It was in a clear mason jar, and the coagulating fluid dripped down David’s face and torso. It smelled horrible, and Blackstar coughed to stop himself from vomiting.  
“Why-why do you want to kn-know?” David perked up, and whipped his mouth on his grimey shirt.   
“Ah, I’m one of your dad’s _old_ friends! I mean, I accidentally stole _his_ girl's double, who he married, can you _believe_ that?” Blackstar shrugged, confused. David nodded, hand waving dismissively. “Yeah. _Wild!_ But, we were friends for like, _a week…”_ He said, finishing his chunky meal. “I was friends with _everyone_ , ‘cause I was, _er,_ am, so nice!” Blackstar released his held breath.  
“W-wait, stole his-” Blackstar paled. He thought over his dad’s writings, a name coming to mind quickly. “Yo-you’re Clades Sluice?!” David nodded.   
“Yep!” Blackstar gasped and shuddered, remembering that Clades was dead. “How _is_ DetectiveStar, by the way? I _wanted_ to be his friend, but his wife kinda… _took over,_ I guess you could say…” Blackstar sighed.  
“D-dead. He’s dead, a-an’ been dead f-for a year.” He growled, frowning. David stiffened for a brief moment.  
“Oh, well that sucks!” He said, a worried smile on his face. Blackstar wanted to be mad, but the look the weird man gave him just made him close his eyes and try to think. He leaned back against the warm metal, hand on his eyes.

He felt the small man suddenly climb onto his torso. He was freezing cold, like clay. David/Clades leaned in close to Blackstar’s face, there was the smell of blood and death on his breath. He opened his eyes, seeing the slightly scruffy face of the bloodsoaked man. He was smiling softly, eyes shining with curiosity.  
“Now that I think about it, you _do_ look like that Tuo girl… Explains a lot…” He muttered. He started lowly talking, words unintelligible. Blackstar felt his chest constrict and his stomach hurt like it was about to vomit, but his face was warm with… something. David was very close, so close that his nose was touching Blackstar’s snout. The criminal’s lips were very close to brushing against his own. Blackstar couldn’t think straight, he sensed an intimate intent as David looked into his crossed eyes.  
 _‘Why is he just looking at me..?’_ He thought. “D-David, sir..? Wh-what are you doing..?” David was blushing too, and Blackstar felt his captor squeeze his arm a bit, and frowned.  
“Tryin’ to _remember_ who was who! Now that I’m closer, you _smell_ a hella lot like, uh,” he snapped his fingers, “ah, Coach Zed!” David grinned wide. He backed off a bit.  
“Uh, well, I live with him…” David’s smile shrunk, but he still was perky. “I-if that’s all, can I go n-now..?” David looked like he suddenly realized something. He swiped his tongue over his fangs.  
“Oh, uh, yeah! Well, uhm, your friends _are_ probably looking for you.” David said as he blew out the lamp’s light, and moved the wooden board to let Blackstar out. “Uh, stay away from _this_ area, okay? I’m staying around here, for now, and I get… _hungry_ sometimes. _I-I might attack…”_ David explained, whispering lowly. He shoved Blackstar out of the makeshift home, and into the back alley. It was directly behind Courier’s Saloon. David followed him out, grabbing his hat.

“W-what does that mean?” David didn’t answer. He knocked Blackstar, gently, to his feet and held him up in the air again. All Blackstar could do was give a small, adorably pitiful squeak.  
“Stay safe! Carry a gun, or a _silver_ knife. Many people _will_ try to take advantage of you when you’re _alone_.” He warned while he moved the very confused Blackstar to the entry of the alley, which was across the street from his apartment. He tossed him to the curb, a good 3 feet away. “B-bye!” He said as he frantically ran away.  
“W-what the fuck..?” Blackstar said, dazed and nauseous.

 **_“BLACKSTAR!”_ ** A voice howled. Bectro appeared from the apartment’s entry, with the rest of the Pack following. Blackstar ran to his Pack, crying out of fear and relief.

“Woah, that sounded horrifying! Who knows what that criminal could’ve done to you!” Langley cried as all 5 sat in ‘the Doom Room’, named so by Langley, though it was just Blackstar's room. He’d just finished explaining what happened in the alley.  
“Yeah! Sounds like he could’ve done something unspeakable!” Bectro said. Everyone else agreed.  
“W-well, I hope I don’t run into him again!” Blackstar huffed as he hugged a trash can full of vomit. “He smelled so bad, a-and I think… he wanted something f-from me.”  
 **“He did.”** Jonas said, emerging from the window. Everyone screamed in shock, while the mysterious red-clad man closed and locked the previously unlocked window. **“He wanted your blood!”** He said, miming fangs. No one laughed, so he gave up after a second.  
“When will you stop calling that man a vampire?” Bectro growled. Jonas smiled widely.  
 **“When he’s finally caught on camera! The truth** **_is_ ** **out there, dear Spects!”** He said, giving Bectro a pet on the head. Hollie sighed and Homeboy chuckled. Jonas made his way over and sat on Langley’s lap, kissing his paw/hand. Langley grinned wide and sheepishly laughed.  
“J-Jonas, how'd you even get up here?” Blackstar asked.  
 **“Fire escape.”** He responded, coolly. Blackstar nodded and tightened his grip on the can.  
“Oooh, I-I feel horrible…” He whined.   
“That's understandable, the smell of blood on you burns my nose, like a prairie's fire.” Bectro musically barked in his poetic lilt.  
“Agree. Stinky bastard. Shower?” Homeboy said, teasingly.  
“S-sure.” He said, laughing a bit. Everyone began to wind down, breaking off in small groups to chat while Blackstar showered.

An oddity occured that night. In Blackstar’s dreams, he saw everything clearly. No strange narrating voice, telling him what to do or where to go- hell, he didn’t even know what ‘the park in the school’ was! No, he only dreamt of a man. A short, pale, fuzzy man. He was in his dumpster home, feasting on the nasty fluids. He stopped and looked at his supply. Empty, all jars sparkling with how bare they were. He frowned, grabbing his stomach. He sighed as he looked at the jar he was eating out of, seeing it almost empty. He groaned, drinking the rest of the odd drink.  
Blackstar’s heart hurt seeing his frowning face, he wanted to reach out and grab his cheeks and tell him it would be okay. He wanted to hold him close and let him eat whatever he wanted- But the dream only showed David collapsing, breath labored, and the faint sound of sirens in the distance.

Blackstar woke up with a sudden sob, heart pounding. It was 3 am.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gay rights and new births.

#  **_Chapter Three_ **

_One_ _month later, September 23rd, 2109…_

School got out around 3:30, and Blackstar was alone. He was in the back alley of Courier’s Saloon, pacing a circle. He carried a small box of food, water, first aid, and fresh clothing. He had a silver knife on his hip, advice taken from the odd alley man. He stashed his backpack near David’s dumpster-home, and was just muttering his worried thoughts. His dreams last night were, again, of David and his struggles; a series of vivid Visions of the man suffering. Though he still was spooked by the criminal, he couldn't help but feel a small connection to him. It didn’t help that the dreams made Blackstar’s heart yearn for the criminal’s touch. He was almost… craving what the criminal of the streets had made him feel during the faux-interview.  
“What are you _doing_ here?” A familiar voice cut the silence, laughing a little.  
“D-David!” Blackstar gasped, looking around to find the man. His heart sped up out of joy for hearing his voice, Blackstar denied knowing why. He couldn't see him, but he heard the man laugh.  
“Up here.” Blackstar looked up, and saw a small white-and-black bat on a wall. It flew down and transformed into David Culleron. Blackstar stepped back and almost dropped his care box. “What's what? Smells good!”  
“H-how did you do that!?” Blackstar asked, shaking but smiling.   
“Um… How can I _trust_ you..?” David asked, tapping his chin. Blackstar felt slightly hurt, but a shake of David’s head whisked it away. “Well, whatever. What’s in the box?”  
“I-I uh, wanted to bring you a care package! B-because I thought y-you, uh-uh, needed it..?” He smiled, weakly, face heating up slightly. “It’s got food, water, some clothes, and first aid.” Blackstar stuttered and presented the box to the blood soaked man. The latter took it and opened it, seeing the former was not lying.   
“Oh, uh, thanks! You didn’t _have_ to, but it’s very appreciated!” David said, smiling a large, fanged smile. _“I_ was _running out of supplies…”_ He softly said. He went to his makeshift house and placed the care package in it, then came back out. “I’ve decided I _can_ trust you!” He announced. “I’m a vampire.”   
“A v-vampire? What is that?” Blackstar asked, confused.   
“You’ve _never_ heard of a vampire?” David asked, mirroring the same confusion. “Well, it’s a uh, _undead_ monster that drinks _blood_ and can transform into a _bat!”_ He explained.  
“That sounds cool, other than the drinking bl-blood part!”  
“O-oh. Glad _you_ think so! But I'm not done, ‘cause a vampire also _can't_ enter a home without permission, and most are _obsessed_ with counting things. They’re also stereotyped to be harmed by the sun, but _I’m_ not.” David explained more. Blackstar sat down and David sat nearby.

David continued, rambling about the absurdity of being hurt by the sun. Blackstar watched him rant with a loving smile. They, mostly David, talked more about Vampire Stereotypes, there seemed to be so many that Culleron had strong opinions on. The two scooted closer to each other, despite the heat, and after 5 minutes they were practically on top of the other. David had his head on the brick wall that was behind them, his arm resting on Blackstar’s leg.  
“Wow… that sounds like hell…” Blackstar said, trying to find something to add.  
“Yeah.” David said as he laughed. “It _really_ is. Can’t believe they just _count_ until the sun comes. They shouldn’t even die, they’re undead!”  
“So, uh, I guess you’re undead too?” Blackstar looked to David, who smiled, confused. He moved to look at Blackstar, sitting on his leg.  
“Um, yes _I_ am. Dunno how, but I was cursed by a _chimera…_ ” He smiled his fanged grin, stifling a large yawn.  
“Wow. D-did it hurt?” David was leaning on Blackstar’s shoulder now, sitting on his thigh.  
_“No…”_ He whispered. Blackstar smiled, and noticed the vampire was falling asleep. David let out a tiny yawn, and the two laughed. Blackstar leaned his face down, muzzle touching the vampiric criminal’s nose. _“I wouldn’t mind if it did, if it meant meetin-”_

A woman suddenly shouted at the two men, from a window on a nearby building, holding a phone. “I knew that vampire was here! The police are coming, you criminal scum!” She shrieked. The mentioned man jumped and made a mad dash to his house. Blackstar quickly ran away, leaving the vampiric criminal to his own devices. 

The frightened Runner raced home, entering the lobby out of breath. He saw Jonas in the lobby, who was absentmindedly laying on one of the apartment’s lounge couches.  
“H-hey! Jo! C-can you tell me if being near a criminal, when n-no crimes have been committed, will g-get you arrested?” Jonas looked over at the worried man, and smiled.  
**“Not when I’m in the know."** He said, reassuringly.  
“A-alright-”  
**“Talk. What’d ya** **_do?”_ ** He sat up and grinned madly at Blackstar.   
“I-I gave David Culleron that care package I told you about, and some random lady called the cops…” He explained.   
**“Ugh. I hate when they call the Pigs.”** Jonas grimaced, chewing his nails. Blackstar noticed he _was_ wearing gloves, but he'd taken them off to pick at his fingers.  
“Ye- wait what? Pigs..? They’re all lions.” Blackstar looked at the red-clad man, who just sighed.  
**“It’s a metaphor, dummy. Anywho, where’s your backpack? It at home?”** He asked, while Blackstar realized he left it back at David’s. **“Yeah, thought so.”** Blackstar paused and looked at Jonas, confused. It was as if he read his thoughts! Smirking, Jonas stood up. **“Oh, I can, it’s a gift. Usually I can’t read people's exact thoughts, but yours are just… so loud! Another cool power I've got.”** He smiled softly. **“I don’t mind listenin’ to you, though! Your thoughts are quite… interestin’.”** He gave a sly, sleazy smile. Blackstar frowned, a blush spreading to his snout, but nodded.

 **“I’ll be right back.”** He left the room, returning with the bag around his shoulders two seconds later.   
“Woah! How a-are you that fast?” Blackstar exclaimed, taking it back.  
**“Like I said, man, I’ve got ~powers~.”** Jonas said, gesturing with his hands.   
“Thanks, I guess.” He idled, gripping his bag tighter. “Hey, c-can I get s-some advice?” Jonas quirked an eyebrow, interested.   
**“That depends. Whaddya need advice with?”** Blackstar took a deep breath in, shakily exhaling.  
“I-I want to ask out Culleron, j-just for a date! H-how should I do that?” Jonas smiled, eyes growing a brighter blue.   
**“Awww! My little baby is growing up!”** He purred, pulling the Runner into a grand hug. **“Well, all I can say is ‘don’t chicken out’! You need to take Culleron by the horns and just… ask!”** Blackstar frowned as Jonas set him down.  
“David doesn’t have ho-horns, does he?” Jonas pursed his lips, sighing into his hand.   
**“It’s a figure of speech, don’t worry about it. Just… don’t hesitate! When you have a dull moment, that’s when you pop that sweet, sweet question.”** Blackstar nodded, taking a deep breath in.  
“A-alright, thanks Jo. I knew I could rely on you.” Jonas nodded, smiling.  
**“Of course! I’m your grandpa… friend! You can always rely on me, my little star child!”  
**And with that, the two men rode the elevator to their respective homes.

Later that night, Blackstar was still awake. Blackstar huffed as he rolled over in his bed, trying and failing to get some good sleep. He glanced over at his clock, which read ‘11:39 pm’. He pressed his face deeper into the fluffy pillow, cursing the ‘occasional’ insomnia the Visions his mind gave him. His dreams were a mix of the strange voice he could only describe as blue, watery and desperate, and his concerning ‘starving David’ Visions. He hated them both.

A strange rattling noise came from the window near his bed. Blackstar looked up to see a figure opening the window from the outside. The moonlight cast a dark shadow on the person, but it was clear to Blackstar that it was David Culleron, from the tall and tattered hat. Blackstar got up and opened the window before he could break the window’s locks.  
_“What are you doing here?!”_ He hissed in a whisper.  
_“I-I need_ some _food… a-and I need a place to stay- because the police are_ so close _to finding me!”_ He said, whispering lowly. He was attempting to crawl into the home, but Blackstar pushed him out, gently.  
_“Okay, calm down. I’ve got questions. One, what happened to the care box I gave you? Two, can't you just go back to your old house? Three, what happened to the dumpster home?”_ Blackstar frowned. David shook his head.  
_“One, I need blood! I can't digest solids and non blood liquids without having blood_ first _! Two, I did! But the police tried to arrest me there- and I can't_ enter _it because of the_ stupid vampire rules _!”_ He grabbed his hat and covered his face, rubbing it into his flesh. _“Three, the police raided my dumpster, and took_ everything _!”  
__“...”_ Blackstar sighed and thought over the cursed man’s predicament. He heard faint footsteps behind him.  
_“... Can I come in?”  
__“No. Wait- how are you even up here! This is the eighth floor!”  
__“The fire escape?”_ The vampire responded, confused. Blackstar sighed and face palmed, rubbing his sleepy eyes.  
_“Fuck, that’s right…”_ The door to the large bedroom creaked open, and a voice came with it.

“Blackstar, go back to bed, you’ll wake-” She stopped. “Why is the window open, and… who is that?” Tuo asked, voice sleepy yet alarmed. Blackstar stiffened and turned.  
“U-uh,” he faked a smile, “this is uh, a-”   
“I am Jake Stark.” David said. “I know it's _very_ late, but your son is _very_ nice and has befriended me. I don't have _anywhere_ to sleep tonight, and I was just asking him to sleep here tonight, _i-if_ that's not a bother.” He said, smiling his fanged smile.  
“Jake Stark?” She sounded skeptical and annoyed. “You're David Culleron, I know that smile anywhere!” She frowned.   
“A-ah, y-yeah, you caught me!” He gave a big grin and jazz hands. “I am him. But I'm _not_ a criminal, you _gotta_ believe me!” He pleaded.  
“Oh really? You're wanted for attempted murder, assault, and breaking and entering! How is that not criminal activity?” David frowned and shook his head.  
“I'm a _vampire_ , so the _‘attacks’_ were me getting blood to _eat._ The people I chose were consensually fed upon, but the police _ignored_ that so they could kill me!” He snarled to himself. “I never meant to _hurt_ anyone, too. The sudden _stopping_ of feeding causes _more_ blood loss than would happen if the feeding is _completed_.” He looked down. His fangs were cutting into his bottom lip, bringing gross, red blood to the surface.  
“David-” Tuo started speaking but David cut her off.  
“And! I didn't _break and enter_ . It’s _MY_ house!” He was furious at this point, but he just gripped the window frame and bore his fangs. He gave a sharp hiss. “I have this _curse_ , given to me by the _stupid_ chimera of curses! I _never_ asked to be revived, _I didn't want this…”  
_“I… Blackstar, did you know..?” Tuo looked to her son, who was just standing there, idle as the two older adults argued.  
“... Yeah. I know. D-David told me.” He muttered, scratching his face. “He dragged me to his home and told me, ‘cause he recognized me because of my dad.” David nodded sheepishly, and Tuo lowly gasped. “We’ve, uh, been f-friends ever since.”  
“... But, why? He's-”  
“He’s **_what_ **, mom? I’m an adult, I-I can have my own friends and hangout with w-whoever!” Blackstar suddenly cut Tuo off, practically shouting. She took a slight step back.  
“I… You’re right. I’m sorry… I’m just worried, in case you, or I, hell even Coach get arrested for housing him. The police really want him, and it seems they’ll do anything to get him.” Tuo mused, sighing. David nodded at her words. “You can come in, David. I welcome you into our home.” She said, and watched as the man climbed into their home. “You can use anything you need, and the washing machine is open if need be. Get to bed and be quiet, please. You’ll wake up Homeboy, and he takes forev’a to fall asleep.” She left the room as soon as she was finished speaking.

Over the next two hours, David washed his dirty suit and hat, and took a much needed shower. He walked into the Doom Room, and was caught off guard by Blackstar. “Hey, uh, David? We don’t have any extra beds, so-uh, I’ll sleep on the floor, and you can sleep in m-my, uh, b-bed.”  
“Blackstar that's _your_ bed. _You_ should sleep in it, not me!” David said. He was awkwardly standing in a towel, looking at the Runner.   
“Yes it is, but you’re my guest!” Blackstar motioned to the bed, bowing like a knight would at their king.  
“Are you _sure_ I can use it? _I don't want to be a bother…_ ” He shyly said.   
“One hundred percent, there's no school to-tomorrow.” Blackstar cheered. "B-besides! W-what are friends f-for if they can't r-rely on each other!" He shook his head, the stutters making him blush.  
“Alright…” David blushed a dull pink and crawled in, squeaking a bit when Blackstar covered him in a soft blanket.  
_“Good night.”_ Blackstar whispered, turning off the lights and laying down on the floor. David realized he was still in his towel.

“W-wait. I need to _ask_ you something.” David said, sitting up suddenly. He removed the towel and tossed it into a nearby clothes hamper, and turned the lights back on. He wasn’t wearing pants, Blackstar saw. The black ‘leggings’ was only, in fact, his bare legs. His arms, too, were black skin. Blackstar’s mind imploded as he tried not to stare at his nakedness. His face was burning, but David seemed not to notice.  
“H-hmm?” Blackstar hummed. David’s face was flushed, but only ever so slightly.  
“M-may I drink your _blood?_ ” David blushed harder, looking into Blackstar’s black eyes. “I-I feel I need consent first, and, well, I didn't want to be rude and _attack_ during your sleep.” He muttered.  
“Yeah! Of course!” Blackstar sat up too, and smiled at his guest. “Just one question, w-will I become a vampire?” David cringed and shook his head. He jumped to the floor, landing gently on Blackstar’s thighs. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when David landed.  
“No, that's a myth. You will _only_ become a vampire if I bite you with _intent_ to turn you. Which, I assure you, is _never_ my intent.” David said. Blackstar nodded, taking in everything. “S-so, may I?” David pointed to Blackstar’s wrist.  
“Ye-yeah!” Blackstar presented his forearm and David took it into his small hands. He looked over the pale arm until he found a good vein, then he placed his teeth over it. Blackstar shivered at the touch of the man’s teeth, feeling his face heat up.   
_'D-don’t make this weird, dude…'_ He thought.  
“Hmm. I can't do _this_ arm.” David said, pulling away from Blackstar’s arm. “My teeth are too big, and all your veins are _really_ small. _Like… unnaturally small…”_ He whispered to himself.  
“Oh, uh, can you use my neck?” Blackstar asked.   
“I _can_ try.” David said. Blackstar leaned down, and David inspected his neck, finding the perfect place to feed: his jugular. His cold breath numbed the spot as he ran his chapped lips over the vein. He placed his two largest teeth over it, seemingly measuring, and Blackstar could feel his heart racing. He would’ve bet the house that David felt it too.  
David sunk his teeth in, quickly. Blackstar didn't even feel the pain until his mind began to fog with white, and his eyes grew heavy. He could feel his blood being taken from his neck, and he grew cold. He closed his eyes for a second, just to blink. 

The white grew brighter, and he heard a child’s voice. **** **_“Chuck! Look! Someone’s washed ashore!”_ ** The white pulsated with Blackstar’s heartbeat. He heard the crashing of waves, and felt warm hands on his shoulders. **_“What’s your name…?”_ ** The hands moved to his face, whipping off what felt like sand. Blackstar felt his mouth move, but heard nothing. _**"**_ _**…** _ **_**C** an’t speak, huh? Y’know sign language?”_ ** His body nodded, hands moving on their own. They said something that Blackstar couldn’t see. **_“You can’t remember? We’ll make one for ya! How’s, uh, Apocalove-”_ **

The white suddenly disappeared. “Uh, Blackstar, are you _okay?”_ David’s voice pulled him from a lull. His puncture wounds were pressed on, which woke Blackstar up more.  
“I-I… I'm fine.” He sleepily muttered.  
_“G-good!_ I'm done feeding!” David gave a small smile, and let out a large yawn. Blackstar took a deep breath, and settled down in his make-shift bed.   
“A-alright. Uh.. good night…” He said, sleepily and soft. He paused, watching David not return to the bed, but nestled near Blackstar’s legs. Blackstar opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, shaking his head as if he realized he was going to ask a dumb question. He closed his eyes, trying to get to sleep.

_T_ _he next day, September 24th, 2109…_

Somehow, Blackstar managed to not have a single voice or Vision disturb his dreams. He was, however, rudely awoken by gasps and poorly hushed laughter.  
“Uhhh, w-what..?” He sat up, and saw Hollie, Homeboy, Langley, Bectro, and Jonas all standing above him. He then saw David, who was lazily snoring next to himself.  
_“My my, Curly. Sneaking boys into the house~!”_ Jonas teasingly whispered.  
_“G-guys! Go away!”_ Blackstar growled. He watched as all but Jonas did, who was just standing and smiling rather familiarly. Blackstar knew instinctively he saw that smile before. His grandpa’s face flashed in his mind.

 _“Dearest star child, why him?”_ Jonas gestured to the sleeping vampire and Blackstar looked at the drooling man. _“Not judging, just, oh… Curious. I didn’t know he was your type.”_ He said, lowly.  
_“I-I what? He’s my type! B-but don’t tell him I said that, b-because we’re not, y-you know… dating or s-something like that!”  
__“Oh.”_ His smile grew to a cocky smirk. _“I thought you said you were going to ask.”_ Blackstar shot him a bashful glance.  
_“I-I haven’t asked him out yet. I chickened out…”_ He softly whispered. Jonas nodded, frowning. David snored loudly and cuddled deeper into the sheets, nestling his face between the floor and Blackstar’s thigh. Blackstar smiled warmly and gently pet the sleepy man. He just grumbled and fell silent once more. _“Sorry for doin’ what you said not too… I’ll a-ask him when you leave…”  
__“Don’t worry about it, it was a joke. I’ll be waiting for the announcement soon._ **Don’t keep us waiting!”** Blackstar blushed, hushed him, and shooed the odd dude away, who left the room.

“... Waiting for what?” David suddenly said. He looked up to the Runner, who smiled sheepishly.  
“Uh-oh, I-I wanted to-to ask you something!” Blackstar said, pulling up David’s face to meet his own. He drew in a deep breath. “Do you want to go on a date? W-with me? L-like to a restaurant or-or something?” He asked. Blackstar squished David’s cheeks while the latter frowned.  
“Oh-um.” He sat up and removed Blackstar’s hands from his face. “Are you _sure_ you’d want to go out with… _me_ ? It’d be dangerous, given my past relationship _history…_ _and_ my current curse…” He paused, looking down. “You’d actually want to love… _this_?” He whispered, gesturing at himself. He had a huge healed autopsy scar running up his stomach, the scar a pale green. Blackstar didn't care about the past, he knew of the manipulation his ‘mother’ was capable of.  
“I already do.” Blackstar said. He hugged the vampire, pressing his muzzle on the vampire’s cold cheek. Blackstar noticed that despite David’s coldness, it was refreshing.  
_“Wh…”  
_“E-ever since you explained yourself to me, I’ve been falling more and more.” He murmured on the cold man’s skin. He wrapped him into a full hug, easily placing the underweight man on his lap. He saw the vampire’s face flush green, eyes misting over.  
“I-I… _I’m…_ ” He paused, before drawing in a deep breath. “Yes. I’d _love_ to go on a date.” Blackstar smiled wide, and kissed his cheek. A single tear fell.  
“I promise to make it the best date ever!” He cheered and hugged the vampire close. The latter smiled and laughed, kissing Blackstar’s muzzle as soon as the hug was over.

When the two men were dressed and out of the Doom Room, they saw their Pack looking worried in the living room. “W-what’s wrong guys?” Blackstar asked, nervously glancing over to Jonas, whose face was clouded with deep thought.   
“Mom’s gone into labor! She and Coach are going to the hospital, right now!” Hollie said, frantic and happy. Blackstar’s eyes lit up.   
“Oh gosh!” He gasped. Bectro nodded.  
“We can’t wait. My heart is wilder than an earthquake right now.” He mused. 

Langley huffed as he tried to get Jonas to talk. “What’s wrong, Jo? Ever since they left you’ve been muttering things, and-”  
**“** _I’m-_ **I'm okay, Langley.”** He snapped. **“I’m… gotta- I need to go… I've got something better to do…”** He left the room, huge mane spiked. No one moved for a few seconds. Blackstar felt something foul on his tongue.  
“I guess Jonas is being Jonas again.” Hollie muttered, sitting on the couch.  
“Can’t blame.” Homeboy said. “Hard times.”  
“True…” Hollie responded, looking to Blackstar. “Geez, Blackstar, what’s with the marks on your neck?” He asked. Blackstar instinctively reached up and touched his feeding marks, blushing.  
“O-oh uh, D-David, uh...” He looked to David, sheepishly.   
“I’m a vampire! I drank _his_ blood last night.” He said with a confident smirk. The mood shifted, awkward yet full of held breath.  
“Oh! That… actually explains a lot!” Langley purred. Everyone else nodded, while Blackstar blushed harder and chuckled nervously.  
“I hate that Jonas was right.” Bectro huffed, shaking his head. 

Minutes passed, everyone taking to a gaming system that was in the living room. “So! What’d y’all want to name the kid?” Langley asked, head tilting. “I doubt Tuo and the Coach have one picked.”  
“I said Chadron for girl, or Tucker for boy.” Hollie paused the game, a fighting game, and looked to Bectro. “What was your suggestion?”   
“Tali-Vaal. He’s a very respectable deity in Seventahism.” He placed his paws over his heart, eyes closed and tail wagging. “The first god to be born, so it was said. He’s a deer with a-”  
“Suggested Dave… Before Culleron.” Homeboy cut in. Bectro huffed at the sugar-skinned boy, who smiled thinly at him.  
“I like Howard, i-if i’m allowed _any_ input.” David chuckled, glancing up at Blackstar.  
“I said Martin.” Blackstar said, looking back down to his tiny vampire boyfriend. “But Jonas shot that down.” Everyone nodded.  
_“Actually… about Jonas… I think he’s like, in trouble or somethin’.”_ Hollie whispered, looking around the room sheepishly. _“Like, he’s probably not, but I think someone has him spooked.”  
_Blackstar frowned. “What do you mean..?” He looked to Bectro, who shook his head.  
“Jonas has a history, one that Hollie is privy to.”  
Hollie sputtered, face red. “I-I-” leaning back. “Just because we dated once doesn’t mean I have all the answers! Jonas is-”  
“Irrelevant. Jonas sad. Acting distant.” Homeboy cut in. Everyone nodded, getting it. “Past catching up.” Hollie sighed deeply, putting a hand to Blackstar’s shoulder.  
“We uh, never told you before, Blackstar, but… Jonas ran away from his home, and a weird man… well, partly, was the cause. I think I’ve seen that guy- or his double- around the city, so-”

Blackstar felt an uneasy dread surround his mind, clouding his hearing and sight. Hollie’s voice droned on as Blackstar fell deep into a Vision.

Smokey darkness covered everything in the room, rising from underneath the floor. Blackstar tried to speak, but his mouth was filled with gross tasting black smoke. He smelled burning flesh and saw sudden bright flames explode from all around him. He felt himself being scorched by hot, hot flames, and he saw Desert City on fire, the water blazing and buildings crumbling under the heat. He was suddenly outside. He heard a voice he dreaded to hear echo in, and saw an older Blackstar with blinded eyes wander down a mostly clear road.

 ** _“Ah-all these poor kids… Puh-poor kids…”_** He muttered, head bowed.   
“HEY YOU!” Blackstar from the past yelled, getting the blinded prophet’s attention. “Who did this?!” He ran closer to the blind prophet as he jumped. He frowned and shook his head.  
**“I-I… It was Homeboy... He burnt down this cuh-city to get revenge on Aza’zel.”  
**“... Who?” The blinded prophet frowned.  
**“Thu-the chimera of curses..? Hah-haven’t you heard of them..?”** Blackstar felt a prick of dread in his stomach.  
“... No?” He lied, the nasty taste returning, and the future Blackstar smiled.  
**“Guh-guh-good… Th-they’re evil. They luh-love to make people suffer… They even cuh-cursed Homeboy to be a fire haired wolf thu-thing, juh-just for laughs…”** Blackstar, not blind, frowned and looked around.  
“So… is this the future..?” Blackstar, blind, nodded.  
**“Suh-soon! Eh-if Juh-Jonas stays huh-home. Buh-but, fuh-fuh-for luh-luck I’ll give you this!”** He held out his hands, which Past-Blackstar took. His hands were burning hot. **“The city in the desert is bound to burn when the man of the home brings a kindle.”** Blackstar frowned, **“I-it’s a mandatory thuh-thing to give vague prophecies to others, suh-orry.”**

Smoke rose and surrounded the two. It got into his lungs, and Past-Blackstar started coughing, and yelling. He was overwhelmed with terror as the ground underneath him gave way. His sight went dark.

Blackstar heard David crying out his name. _“BLACKSTAR! Wake up, please!”_ The desperation in his voice made Blackstar’s eyes fly open. He was on the floor, head supported by pillows and everyone by his side. David hugged Blackstar closely, and sobbed louder when he saw Blackstar was okay. Blackstar coughed, his throat sore as if he’d inhaled smoke.  
“Oh my god, Blackstar, was that a seizure?” Hollie asked, worry in his voice. Blackstar wiped away spit that was around his mouth, and cleared his throat.  
“I-I don’t know. I never had one before…”  
“That wasn’t a seizure, it was a fainting spell. He collapsed and started talking nonsense, but wasn’t thrashing or anything like that.” Bectro corrected. Blackstar raised an eyebrow.  
“What- what did I say?”   
“You said, ‘Hey you, who did this’, then you paused and said ‘The city in the desert is bound to burn’ or something like that.” Hollie said. A simple ‘oh’ Was all Blackstar could muster, before his head began spinning and he laid it back on the pillow. David sighed and squeezed Blackstar closer.  
“How do you feel, Blackstar?” Hollie asked.  
“... I feel like crap…” He muttered. “My head hurts…” David sympathetically pet Blackstar’s hair, gently.  
“I’ll get you something for that.” Hollie said, rushing off. Everyone took a seat, waiting for Hollie and the new child. The former returned swiftly with painkillers and water, which Blackstar downed quickly. The latter didn't come home that night. For the rest of the day, everyone sat in the living room, watching t.v. and talking in small groups.

_T_ _he next day, September 25th, 2109…_

After a day of waiting, Coach Zed called and said they were coming home. David had left during the night, leaving only a phone number and his hat behind. Everyone remaining was excited, and prepping the home for their newest arrival. They were all smiling, singing along with old cheesy songs. The house was practically sparkling by the time they got the second call.  
“They’re here!” Hollie suddenly cut in, smiling wide. Bectro, Blackstar, and Homeboy went and sat on the couch, while Langley put away all the cleaning supplies. Blackstar waited, listening to the soft sounds of the lift working.

 **“We’re home~!”** A confident voice mewed from the opening doors of the elevator. Everyone had their eyes on the three people, Coach Zed, Tuo, and the newest child.  
“So, what’d you name them?” Langley asked, walking into the room.   
“We haven’t chosen one yet.” Tuo said. “We still have 3 days to choose.”  
“W-wait really?” Blackstar murmured, confused. “Three whole days?”   
**“Yep~. The city’s pretty lenient with naming children, mostly because they consider people as numbers in courts~.”** Coach Zed explained.   
“Weird…” Blackstar hummed, watching as Tuo walked to the center of the living room, a large bundle of cloth in her arms. She sat down and everyone had their eyes on her.

“So, it’s our honor to introduce our newest member of our family!” Tuo unwrapped the bundle, revealing a pale, chubby face. The child's eyes were closed tight, and they began to squirm. They shifted to reveal dark brown curly hair, exactly like Blackstar’s, but a slightly deeper red. They had the tiniest cat ears sticking out of their head, barely visible out of the sea of hair on their head.  
"What a cutie!" Hollie softly said. "What should we call them?"   
**"That’s for all of you to decide~!"** Coach Zed mewed. **"Get your names ready, we're having a hat draw~."**   
“Yes! Please have it be appropriate, and not too complicated.” Tuo said. The Coach nodded, taking off his two toned baseball cap.  
**“Alright, everyone write only one name~.”** They did as told, and each placed a name into the hat. 

The name drawn was ‘Tuo-bull’. Or, that’s what it looked like, because it was in Jonas' horrid handwriting. How the note got in there, nobody knew. |  
**“Tuo-bull it is~!”** Everyone looked at the small child, and he yawned.

* * *

_We_ _eks later, on the hot day of October 31st, 2109…_

“Wait! You’ve never been to the Fae Forest!?” Hollie practically screamed. “You’ve got to go!” They were seated in the living room, t.v off and windows open. A heat wave was ripping through the area, but the wind was making it bearable. Their parents were out, doing whatever it was they called ‘business’.  
“But-” Blackstar started to speak. Hollie cut him off, a wide smile on his face.   
“No buts!” He jumped off the couch and pointed a finger at Blackstar. “We have to go! It’s the second best place in the city!”  
“B-but I’m watching Tuo-bull today, and I can’t just up and leave!” Hollie pressed his palm to his face, sighing in disappointment.  
“Bring him with! Kids his age can go outside, ya’know.” Blackstar paused and thought for a bit, before nodding.  
“O-okay!” Blackstar went into the Doom Room, and took the sleeping Tuo-bull out from his crib. He changed his clothes into something for the warm day, and grabbed everything he needed. Water, sunscreen, and a blanket were stuffed into the bag, along with necessities for Tuo-bull.  
“You ready?” Hollie was by the elevator, his own bag on his shoulder.   
“Yessir!” Blackstar smiled, and they headed out.

They met up with Langley, Homeboy, and Bectro on the way out. “The Fae Forest is a dangerous place to be, as long as you’re _in_ the forest. If you’re near any man-made paths or objects, you’ll be safe.” Langley explained to Blackstar while they walked to the park, which was in the forest. The park was on the school’s property, so it was easy to access. The pale dog frowned. “I used to come here almost every day, and not _once_ did I go in the woods.”   
“Yeah… Once a kid entered, and we never saw her again!” Bectro huffed. “Makes my heart break, just thinking about it!” Blackstar rolled his eyes and shook his head.   
“I think y’all are just drumming this up, there’s no way a forest alone could be dangerous. It’s some… _thing_ in there.” He pointed out. Hollie and Homeboy nodded, while Langley shrugged.   
“Possible. Unknown monster?” Homeboy asked.  
“If there was a monster, I don’t think the city would let the park be open.” Hollie responded, shrugging.  
“Unknown monster.” Homeboy repeated, a defiant glimmer in his eyes.

Hollie laid down the blanket on a grassy hill, and sat down. The Pack also sat, and Blackstar laid Tuo-bull on his back. He stared at his armless half-brother, frowning when he didn’t open his eyes even though he was awake.  
“... You’re still worried about him, huh?” Langley said, suddenly. Blackstar jumped a little and nodded.   
“Yeah. I just feel something’s up with him. First he’s born with no arms, next we find he’s got Black Eye Syndrome, what’s next?” Blackstar ranted, sighing after a second of silence.  
“Take off your mind.” Homeboy said. “Play.” He pointed to the jungle gym, and smiled. Everyone got up and scrambled for the equipment, even Blackstar. This left Tuo-bull alone. 

The wind suddenly picked up, cold and like it was off a lake. Tuo-bull lifted his head, and struggled to sit up. A blue, cold voice, one only he could hear, whispered to him, to just run into the forest. He sat up finally, and stood. He took shaking, blind steps, small at first, but then he was running. He ran to the forest, and entered the undergrowth. He walked where the voice took him, moving expertly over holes and roots in his way. He wandered into a clearing, the voice louder. He stopped at a huge, obsidian black stone, coated in moss and vines. It was calling to him, asking to be cleansed. He used his small teeth to remove the deeply rooted vines, his feet to kick off shrubs, and used fallen tree branches to scrape off century old mud. When he was ‘done’, he had cleaned off an inscription, one of eyebrows and eyes- a face. He grinned widely, proud of his invisible accomplishment. 

**_“Tuo-bull!”_ ** A chorus of voices -real voices- called. He didn’t turn, and only marveled at the odd obsidian monument.

“T-this is all m-my fault!” Blackstar was shaking madly, tears falling freely. The Pack was on the edge of the forest, not entering the mysterious woods. “I-I was s-supposed t-t-to watch-” Hollie hugged his brother close, taking his head into his large and soft hands.  
“Hey, hey! It’s okay! We’ll find him, okay? He couldn't have gotten far…” He reassured. “Take a deep breath.” When Blackstar did, Hollie turned to Langley and Bectro, who were sniffing in the underbrush.  
“No scent trails over here…” Langley growled, frowning. “Bectro?”   
“Ah, a hit! Here, here!” He led the four men to the small clearing that Tuo-bull stopped in. It wasn’t a long walk, only a few yards from the park, but the dense brush, holes, and tree roots made it almost impossible to navigate. They broke through the clearing, and Tuo-bull turned to the group. He smiled softly.

“Tuo-bull!” Blackstar smiled wide and ran to his brother, tripping over his feet. He crashed to the ground as his friends surrounded the rock and his brother.  
“Holy moly!” Hollie cried, looking at the out of place stone. “What is this thing?” Blackstar pushed himself up to see, watching Hollie rip several hunks of plants off the surprisingly shiny black stone.  
“Dude, look. It’s a box!” Langley pointed to a seam. “Looks to be intact!”   
“L-let me see.” Blackstar pushed past Homeboy and ran his fingers over the precise crack. “... You’re right… Hey, Bectro, help me open it.” The mentioned wolf smiled.  
“Oh, of course!” Bectro moved into position, on one end of the long box. Blackstar took the other end, and they managed to lift off the lid. They set it on the ground, face down. A rancid scent emanated from the now opened obsidian slab. They all noticed that the top was equipped with a box-like shape, in the style of a gift box, and had a sentence carved into all sides. Moss and lichen obscured the writing that was on the side faces, but Blackstar saw the name _“Starfall”_ on the back face. 

“T-there’s a-a body in there!” Bectro whimpered, pulling Blackstar into the present. He looked inside and saw a semi-preserved man, wrapped in a dull two tone blue shroud. His face was covered with a shroud, a simple embroidery of eyes, a nose, and thick eyebrows on it.  
“T-this is a casket!” Langley, overwhelmed, ran away. Homeboy followed, holding his stomach. Hollie looked at the corpse, before being torn away by Bectro. They raced to catch up with their friends. Blackstar stayed put, frozen in place. His heart pounded with fear, blackness clouding his eyes. Tuo-bull leaned on him, yawning softly.

 ** _“WELCOME TO MY HOME!”_ ** A voice boomed, startling both brothers. The darkness vanished.  
“W-who’s there?” Blackstar snarled, picking up Tuo-bull.  
**_“OH, DON’T SAY YOU DON’T REMEMBER ME! IT’S ME, MARTIN!”_ ** The wind picked up, cold and smelling of the rotting body. A glowing mist rose from the body, sparkling like a nebula. It twisted and formed itself into the shape of a human. He hovered the open casket, short mane of hair flowing like water. His face reminded Blackstar of someone he knew, his voice the same. His face was similar to the shroud over the corpse’s face, but much more detailed. His eyes were hooded and his eyebrows were thick, giving him a disinterested expression, but his mouth was a wide smile. Martin’s body was slightly see-through and it looked like he was wearing a flowing dress. Blackstar shook in fear. Martin smiled, but then frowned. **_“YOU’RE NOT… AFRAID ARE YOU?”_ ** He looked sad as he said that.   
“What the hell are you..?” Blackstar took a few steps back. Tuo-bull squirmed, but Blackstar held fast.

 ** _“BLACKSTAR!”_ **Many voices howled, all from his friends. He turned to see them running into the clearing and backed up to meet them.  
“Put the-” Hollie started to speak, but stopped when he saw Martin. The winds picked up again, making the forest go cold.  
“I-is that a ghost?” Langley whimpered, from behind Hollie.  
**_“I AM NOT A GHOST! I AM MARTIN STARFALL! I DO WANT TO THANK YOU, DEAR TUO-BULL AND FRIENDS, FOR FREEING ME!”_ **   
“F-freeing you?” Bectro frowned. “You were trapped?” The ghost nodded.  
**_“TECHNICALLY! MY TOMBSTONE’S FACIAL INSCRIPTION WAS COVERED, THEREFORE I WASN’T CONNECTED TO THIS REALM ANYMORE!"_ **Martin grinned wide.  
“That’s… weird…” Langley murmured.  
**_“I… DON’T CONTROL THE AFTERLIFE, CHILD.”_ ** He said sweetly. 

“Well, Martin, now that you’re free, do you mind explaining why you’re here?” Hollie asked, taking charge of the situation. “Or how you got here?” Blackstar moved behind him, still holding little Tuo-bull close.  
**_“WELL… I DROWNED, AND I WAS PLACED IN THIS CASKET SO I COULD COME BACK TO SEE MY BROTHER! HE WOULD ALWAYS DRAG ALONG A VERY SWEET BOY, TOO._ ** **_BUT, AFTER A WHILE, THEY BOTH STOPPED COMIN’ BY, AND MY FACE WAS COVERED BY ALL THOSE PLANTS! IT’S BEEN A WHILE, BUT I THINK IT WAS, OH, 79 YEARS SINCE MY BRO LAST VISITED… I THINK HE MIGHT BE GONE, THOUGH…”_ ** Martin had taken a seat on the lip of the casket, musing sadly. **_“I DON’T REMEMBER THIS FOREST BEING HERE…”_ ** He whispered to himself.  
“Oh. What was your brother’s name? And the other boy’s?” Hollie offered a small smile. Martin gave him a big smile back.  
**_“OH, IT WAS MARVYIN STARFALL! AND THE BOY’S NAME… I THINK IT WAS JONAS!”_ ** He purred, frowning as he thought of the name. Everyone gasped, and Blackstar froze, and that’s when Tuo-bull broke from Blackstar’s grasp, climbing into the casket. Darkness poked at the edges of his eyes  
“Mawtin!” He barked, smiling. He opened his eyes wide, deep black with what looked like stars swirling in them. Everyone gasped at his outburst, and Blackstar’s sight fully clouded over.

Darkness surrounded him. He struggled to breathe, each breath coming in shallow. He felt a tightly wrapped blanket around him, a pillow beneath his head. He felt smaller than he was used to. Coach Zed’s voice echoed in.  
**“You think he’s going to make it~?”** He felt his face being stroked by soft fingers.  
_“He’s weak, but I believe in ‘em. We need to keep our chins up, dear.”_ His mom spoke, and the petting stopped.  
**“Of course~! But~… Do you think Blackstar would take his death well~? His dad did just die~…”  
**_“I hope he does, it seems that boy has death following him at all times…”_ He felt slightly insulted.  
**“... You’re right~.”** A few moments passed. Blackstar tried to move his limbs, but he could only move his head.

 **“H-hey, have you seen that Culleron person around~? Doesn’t he look hell’v’a lot like Sluice~?”** Tuo’s voice shook and sounded restrained.  
_“Ah, no. I’ve heard Blackstar talk about him, but… I’ve never seen the guy.”_ The lie was so palpable it made Blackstar's teeth itch.   
**“Hmm~.”  
**_“... Do you miss him, hun?”  
_**“Every day, my dear~... Sluice didn’t deserve that~…”  
**_“... You’re right… But why do you care about Culleron?”  
_**“Well, I’ve heard that… he’s a vampire~…”  
**_“Oh my… D-do you still have that number of the hitman?”  
_**“The one we called for The Ugly One~?”  
**_“Of course. Who else?”  
_**“... Ah~… I do have his number, w-why do you want it~?”  
**_“A reserve, just in case that Culleron dares to try anything.”  
_**“Oh~. Smart~!”  
**_“You’re smarter.”_

The darkness swirled and a door slammed. Blackstar felt his breath quicken, and saw that he was sitting on a bed. His body wasn’t his own, instead it was a human’s. His sight was tinted red, colors all a pleasant shade. Someone yelled from behind him.  
**_“How Many Times Do I Have To Say This!? Stay Out Of The Basement!”_ ** A man’s voice boomed, the tint turning a gross green.  
_“You’re not the boss of me.”_ A boy’s voice responded from Blackstar’s mouth. The green turned red again.  
**_“I Am The Boss Of You! I Am Your Father-”  
_**_“You’re not my dad! We're not even related!”  
_**_“W-What?! How Dare You Say That?!”  
_**_“It's true! You're just some random man living in my house!”_ Blackstar felt his hands go up to his face, covering the scene.  
**_“... I’m Going Out. Do Your Homework And Stay Out Of The Basement, Okay?”  
_**_“I'm not in school! I don't hav-”  
_**“OKAY?”  
**_“God, okay…”  
_**_“Thank you, Jasmin.”_  
**

**“That's not even my name!”**

A door slammed, and the haze his eyes left. He looked around, seeing he was doubled over and everyone was surrounding him. Hollie had his hand on his shoulder. “Blackstar, are you okay? That’s the fifth time this week…” Hollie asked, helping him up.

“I-I’m fine… j-just a bit dizzy. Where is Tu-be?” He looked over his shoulder, seeing the casket and Martin, but Tuo-bull nowhere.  
**_“HE IS IN MY BOX!”_ ** He said, pointing to the casket. Blackstar jumped up and raced over, seeing the boy sitting on the semi-decomposed man. **_“PLEASE GET HIM OUT, IT’S AWFULLY GROSS!”_ ** Blackstar picked him up, holding him close.  
“Nooo! Put me down!” He whined, squirming. “Pwease lemme play!"  
“That’s not a playtoy, Tu-be!” Blackstar snarled, feeling grossed out.  
**_“THAT’S MY DEAD BODY!”_ ** Martin purred, floating just above Tuo-bull. Tuo-bull frowned and looked at the older man with sad, doe-like eyes.  
“Dead…?” He asked, mystified. “I like that wowd!” Bectro laughed from behind Blackstar.  
“That’s an awful word to love, it’s like-” He was silenced by Langley, who slapped his muzzle playfully.   
“Hush, that's one analogy we don’t need’a hear!” He barked.   
“Friends. Help. Return slab.” Homeboy moved to the grave topper, grabbing the underside. Blackstar moved out of his way, sitting next to Hollie. Bectro grabbed the other side, and the two placed the gift shaped topper back onto the casket. Martin, who was seated by Blackstar, sighed.

 **_“I MUST THANK YOU, TU-BE AND FRIENDS. NOW THAT I’M FREE TO ROAM THE EARTH AGAIN, I'M GOING TRY TO FIND MY BROTHER.”_  
**“I’d hate to burst your bubble, Mr. Starfall, but your brother might be dead. It's 2109.” Hollie, said, looking at the old ghost.  
**_“... OH.”_ ** He murmured.  
“But, you’re welcome to be our friend!” Langley said, jumping up and raising a paw to the sky. “Having a ghost as a pal would be a dumb thing to pass up!” Martin laughed, sweetly, and everyone joined in until their sides hurt. The Pack of merry men went back to the park, but not before they cleared a path for them to get to the memorial site quickly. Tuo-bull went straight for the slides and other play equipment, which soothed some of Blackstar’s worries. He looked at his friends with a grateful, warm, and excited gaze. They didn’t leave until the sun set.

_N_ _ovember 28th, 2109…_

Blackstar looked to his phone, waiting for a call from Bectro. It was two weeks since they met Mr. Starfall, which meant it had been over a month since anyone had seen Jonas. Blackstar started pacing his room, chewing his fingers in a nervous manner. Jonas was a good friend, the first he made on his own, and now seeing him missing was… worrying. It made Blackstar feel sick. Suddenly his old phone rang.  
“H-hello? Bectro?” His heart was pounding, and he felt like he was sweating. Bectro sighed, and he sounded tired.  
_“Yeah, it’s me. We searched the forest, no luck. Dad’s thinking of moving our search into the desert itself, but we don’t have that kind of manpower!”_ Bectro huffed, and Blackstar half-expected him to start making an analogy, but it never came. _“I wish we could find him sooner. Have you… called him?”  
_“No, I don't even have his number.” He said, putting a hand to his forehead.  
_“I’ll give it to ya.”_ Blackstar scrambled for a pen and paper, writing down Jonas’ number with his crisp, neat handwriting. He noticed that Jonas’ number had ‘420-69’ in it, and silently said ‘nice’.  
"I'll call him as soon as I can." He said, tapping the pen against the pad.

 _"Alright… B-Blackstar may I tell you something? It's… been on my chest for a long while, and, well, there's no better time than now…"_ Bectro sounded hesitant, almost worried. Blackstar nodded, curious.   
"Of course, shoot. What is it?" Blackstar smiled, despite the other not being able to see. Bectro sighed.  
_"Ever since you arrived in our city, I've had the craziest crush on you. I wanted to tell you sooner that I loved you, but I never had the guts to do it."_ Blackstar straightened up, heart sinking. _"I was like a little child wanting extra food when already told no, and about to ask the other parent!"_ He laughed, yet Blackstar did not hear the joy reach his howl.   
"W-well, I'm glad you told me your feelings, Bectro. I-I don't feel the same, but I'm flattered anyway!" He could hear Bectro wince on the other end, and he immediately started rambling. "B-but! But, uh, I know Langley would love to have your hand!" He chuckled nervously, and Bectro hummed on the other end.  
_"Well, if Jonas doesn't show up again, I might have to ask Langley for a date. Do you think I'd have a chance with Homeboy, though?"_ Blackstar felt himself smiling, and he nodded fervently.  
"Absolutely! Homeboy is like, t-the perfect match for you! He doesn't talk a lot, you talk a lot, it's like you two complete each other!" Bectro laughed from the other side, and Blackstar knew he was being genuine.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets a little nsfw (nothing explicit, it cuts before anything graphic can occur) then it gets GAY.

#  **_Chapter Four_ **

_ It soon became Blackstar’s birthday, the 2nd of January, 2110…  _

Blackstar woke up to his younger brother jumping on his bed, shouting and singing.  “Wake up! Wake up!” He groggily pushed himself to a sitting position, smiling.   
“Good mornin’, Tu-be…” Blackstar purred, hugging his brother close.  
“Happy birwuth-day!” He shouted, a wide smile on his maw. “Mommy’s making pancakes.” Blackstar smiled and put him in a soft choke hold, and rubbed his brother’s hair with his fist. Tuo-bull squealed with delight and laughed.  
“Thank you, ya little scamp!” He released his brother, who fell backward, while Blackstar stood out of bed and put on some good clothes.   
“I got you the BEST pwesent!” Tuo-bull said, hopping carefully out of the bed. “I even wapped it myself!”  
“Oh, thank you Tu-be! I couldn’t ask for a better brother.” He grinned down at the proudly smiling Feline-Human. 

He was becoming taller everyday, with white-and-brown cat ears growing from his brown-and-white, curly haired head. He also grew a tail which was the same texture as his hair, colored like his ears. Blackstar often marveled at how tall and fast he was already, despite being only four or so months old. Runners, the species Blackstar was, grew even faster than Tuo-bull’s species. However, it was still a bit jarring to see such a young kid up and running- even speaking, when the humans, who seemingly dominated the vocal part of the city, had children who took years to be independent.  
“You’ve got the best  **family** in the worwld!” He chirped, breaking Blackstar’s internal monologue. “Now come on!” He raced out the door before Blackstar could even react. 

In the kitchen, Blackstar saw his mom by the stove, Coach by the dinner table, and Hollie, Langley, Bectro, and, surprisingly, David seated around plates of pancakes.  
“Finally he’s awake! I thought we’d have to wait a thousand years!” Bectro playfully jeered.   
“Geez, I don’t sleep  _ that _ heavily, Spects.” Blackstar hummed as he sat at the head of the congregation.   
“You do,  _ kinda… _ ” David said, adding, “But I do too!”   
“Who cares if you sleep in or not,” Tuo said, placing down pancakes in front of the birthday boy, “all that matters is you’re awake!” She kissed the top of his head and he smiled widely.   
“Well, I mean-” He was cut off by a doorbell ringing. Everyone looked at each other, because they had no doorbell.

Coach went out of the dining room, and came back with a large box. It was wrapped in a shimmery white paper, and had a red bow tying it nicely. A card was stuck underneath the bow. He was scratching his head in wonder.  
**“Delivery for Blackstar~.”** Coach said, handing the massive gift to the mentioned man.   
“Odd.” Homeboy said, suddenly appearing from who-knows-where. “From?”

“It says…” Blackstar murmured, taking the card. He opened it, seeing it was a home made, construction paper card. “It says  **“To Blackstar, Howdy and Hello! Sorry I couldn’t make it! I finally got a day to be free, so I decided to spend it giving you this! I’ll probably be killed for attempting to see y’all again, so I know I’ll regret this. Hope this blast from the past makes it up. Signed with love, Jonas RCS. PS; there’s 20$ in the envelope.”** … That’s it.” Blackstar felt his mouth go dry. There was no money in the envelope.

“How dare he send that?!” Hollie suddenly shot up, bristling with anger. He slapped the table, making the plates rattle. “Send it and not even explain where he is!”  
“What does ‘probably be killed’ even mean?” Blackstar growled. The congregation took his question rhetorically. He looked at the gift with disdain, but set aside the card and focused his anger on the wrapping paper.

It was a simple box. It had nothing on it but a label, ‘STORAGE’, and other than that it was brown, unremarkable, and smelled of smoke. Blackstar cut through the tape-sealed flaps at the top, and looked inside. A whip and a gun were nestled deep within the pages of Blackstar’s old prophecy art. They were all items that had been lost in the fire that wrecked his old home. His heart jumped in his throat.  
“What is it, big bro?” Asked Tuo-bull. He pulled out the copious and pristine drawings and put them on the table. He put his place of untouched food on the nearby counter, and pulled out more artwork. The crowd before him ‘ooed’ and ‘awed’ at his pseudo magic trick. Finally he brought out the sturdy, leather, worn whip. 

“These are all things I lost in the fire.” He muttered, placing it on the artwork. “All things that shouldn’t even exist anymore!” He hissed.  
“Jonas works in mysterious ways…” Langley said, raising a paw.   
“Yeah, but he could’ve just come back! We know now he’s still out there, so what’s stopping him from coming home? Nobody can keep him contained but himself!” Hollie said, still angry.   
“Maybe he’s scared?” Bectro interjected. “Perhaps he’s being threatened to stay away?”  
“But he usually massacres those who threaten him!” Hollie pointed out. “Besides, it’s not like him to let us worry…” Everyone but Tuo-bull nodded.   
“Who is Jonas?” He asked. Tuo fluffed his hair, reassuringly.  
"He's a family frien-"  
“He’s a monster, that’s who!” Hollie cut in. Blackstar smiled, rolling his eyes. Bectro and Langley laughed too. “He’s clearly a monster for making us hurt like this.” He snarked again, sitting back down and huffing.   
“You guys  _ do _ realize that I’m literally a monster?” David said, a worried expression on his chubby, innocent face. They all stiffened.   
“Well, you’rwe the coolest monstew then!” Tu-be flashed his adorable smile. David smiled back, putting a hand on his face and mimicking a push, all while saying ‘Oh, stop you!’ 

They theorized more after that, the food being consumed and plates set aside. Most of the artwork had big letters spelling “COMPLETE” over the page. But, a few hadn’t been. Three noticeable pages were incomplete: a drawing of a city on fire, a man with a million eyes holding a cow-like cat, and a man standing by a wolf’s head. None of them made sense, and the ‘explanations’ on the back were confusing at best.   
The city drawing had “The city in the desert is bound to burn when the man of the home brings a kindle” on the back. That sent a chill down Blackstar’s spine, reminding him of the first episode of Visions he had since he came back to the city.  
The man drawing just had “69, Man in the Furs” on the back, with an added note written in a different color “Flip that on his side and you get who?” Not the strangest note the Pack had seen.  
The man by a wolf had “Beware, the Eyes Will March. 8.10.12.” No one knew what it meant. 

Blackstar walked down the path to Martin’s grave, the large box of art and weapons in his arms. He also had a lighter, some lighter fluid, and a pocket fire-extinguisher. His eyes were shut as he walked, the Pack around him giving him a headache he didn’t want to see.  
“What do you think we should do with these?” Langley asked.  
“Burn them again.”  
“But-”  
“They were burnt for a reason if they were in my fucking house, Langley. I’ll spread them by Martin’s grave. It’ll be like us scattering Jonas.”  
“Morbid. Satisfactory.” Homeboy chuckled from behind.  David suddenly spoke up from Blackstar’s shoulders.   
“Of course you would like that, ya weirdo. _ ”  
_ “Uncalled for, vampire.”  
“ _ Great Brothers in the sky _ , would you two ever stop bickering?!” Blackstar felt David stiffen.   
“Sorry love!” “Apologies.” He opened his eyes, just to make sure he wouldn’t fall.

The Pack finally reached Martin’s gravestone, which was being attended by a strange Runner in a dark suit. He gave Blackstar a strange sense of deja vu, from where he didn’t know.   
“Sir,” Blackstar started, “what are you doing here?” The guy let out an embarrassed scream and jumped, turning to face the Pack. He wore sunglasses, and they were crooked on his face, showing off his shimmery black eyes.   
“Gah, sorrey! Didn’t know this was a’m private area.” He said, backing off to the side. His voice was a strange accent, an odd rumble that made Blackstar’s pain disappear. Blackstar looked at the guy more, noting he held a knife on his belt and a silver baseball bat was tied to his back. The guy was also short, pale-white skinned, and had a small rose stem sticking out of his suit's sleeve. He was bald.  
“It’s not. It’s just unusual to see a person out here, ‘specially to see one mourning our dear, sweet Martin.” Bectro deeply hummed, placing an arm around the frightened guy. “We appreciate your kindness!”   
“I-I was just’m’lookin’ for one Jonas RCS- a’m contact, uh, said to check here.” He sputtered. Hollie frowned at the name.  
“Why’re you looking for him? He’s better off dead, that fucking ass.” He snarled.  
“I-I’ve been given a’m huge sum’mn money to kill him, and I can’t go into debt again!” He confessed, and covered his mouth after he did. Everyone paused, gasped, or snarled.  
“Kill him!? You’re a dirty hitman?!” Bectro snapped, growling as he held the guy’s throat in his massive paws.   
“Ack! Yes- F-for’m good reason!” He sputtered. Blackstar stepped up, putting his box of to-be-burned things on the grave topper.   
“Spill.” He pulled the gun from the box and pointed it at the strange guy. Even though he didn't know how to use it, he'd hoped the hitman didn't know that. Everyone stiffened and the guy almost started sobbing. His eyes shifted from black to bright blue.  
“I-I’m Horris Culture! I’ve been’m sent by Star the Cat to assassinate Jonas RCS, a-and my intel lead’m me here!” He gasped when Bectro released his neck slightly so he could breathe.  
“Who the hell is Star the Cat? And doesn’t he know that Jonas' been missing for a while now?” Hollie snarled.   
“U-uh, Star the Cat is just some man with a grudge and a huge’m pile of money just callin’ my name.” ‘Horris’ said, wheezing slightly. “I’m k-kinda desperate…” His eyes shifted hue again, back to black.  
“Clearly not enough to be telling us all this.” Langley snarled.  
“W-well I usually kill’m so quick, I don’t need to’m talk to anyone!” He smiled shyly. Bectro grabbed the guy’s throat again, getting a pained cough from the guy.  
“Tell you what, you help us find Jonas, we’ll let you kill him.” David said, leaping off of Blackstar and walking with an air of superiority to Horris.  
“C-Clade’m ‘luice?!” Horris’ shocked face grew to a pained smile. “Wow, now’m I’ve seen everythin’.” He glanced up to Bectro, who was still strangling him. “C-can you stop that? It-” Bectro released him following a gesture from David, and Horris crashed to the ground. His sunglasses were knocked off, and Culleron picked them up.  
“What d'ya say, Culture? Fancy working for us?” He put the glasses on, and Horris looked at the man with big, vibrant green eyes.  
“I’d give’m all the bats in the world t’ to that!” He said with the dumbest smile.  
“Perfect.” Blackstar picked up David by the back of his neck and put him on his shoulders, and offered the guy a hand. “You can help us by burning these things of mine.” Blackstar said as the guy stood with his help. He noticed how soft Horris' hands were, and caught a glance at the inside of his sleeve; there were rose stems wrapped around his wrist. Horris looked into Blackstar's eyes, and cracked a small, blushing smile.  
“A-alright! I’ll do anythin’.” Blackstar put the box on the ground, and handed Horris the lighter and fluid. 

He started to open the bottle before the winds turned colder and a figure manifested.  **_“IS THAT A FIRE I SMELL?”_ ** Martin’s loud voice boomed as he smiled softly. Horris stumbled back with a squeak, eyes black with fear.  
“What in the name of sam’ell!?” He exclaimed as Blackstar laughed.  
“Horris, meet our friend, Martin Starfall!” He said as Martin bowed.   
**_“HELLO THERE!”_ ** Horris shook his head in disbelief.   
“Ghosts are’m real?” He looked concerned. “Actually explains some thin’s…”   
**_“I’M NOT A… ACTUALLY, I THINK YOU’RE RIGHT, PLANT BOY.”_ ** He sat on his own grave, muttering in thought.   
“Plant boy?! I-I don’t have’m p-plants!” Horris fervently shook his head, nervousness pouring off of him like a plant spilling out of its pot. Blackstar looked around the clearing, seeing the Pack steal unconvinced glances at each other. Good to know they were all on the same, plant pressed page.   
“We’ll discuss this later. Now, Horris, light the box on fire.” Blackstar nudged the guy’s shoulder with his own, knocking him into action. 

He uncapped the whole bottle and dumped it on, inside, and around the box. He then took the lighter and flicked it on, putting the flames onto the soaked box. It sparked, and suddenly the box started to burn. The Pack watched the flames destroy the past, all worries on Blackstar’s chest melting off with each passing second.  A slow 5 minutes passed, and the box turned into a smoldering pile of ashes. It was swiftly extinguished, and the chilly winds blew away the ashes. 

**_“NOW, TELL ME ABOUT THIS… STARRY CAT FELLOW.”_ ** The party had moved from Martin’s grave to Blackstar’s room, Martin following and Horris coming with them. They were lounging around while Horris was researching leads on a thick, white laptop.  
“He’s a-” He cut himself off, clearing his throat. “He’s just’m contact.” He seemed to collapse inward, muzzle close to the screen.  
“You seem to have a hard time keeping secrets, Horris.” Bectro grumbled, earning a sharp glare from the mentioned guy.  
“No I don’t! I just have’m poor people skills.” He paused, putting a tired hand on his face.   


“... So, Horris, found anything 'bout Jonas?” Blackstar looked at the guy with a bored frown.  
“Ah, no. This guy’s no’m’where to be found, no soc’m’edia, no records, not even’m warrant for his arrest. ‘S like’m this guy doesn’t eve’m exist!” He gave an exasperated sigh. He fell back onto a beanbag chair he was resting on, and covered his face. Blackstar noticed the cluster of rose stems that were wrapped around his wrist, thorns digging painfully into his skin, but the guy seemed to not notice.  
“Hey, Horris, what’s with the thorns?” He asked. Horris shot up and covered his wrists, scowling.  
“N-nothi’m. I ain’t got ’ny thorns.” He rubbed his wrists, while David gave Blackstar a ‘let’s not investigate further’ look. “Speakin’m thorns,” Horris muttered, “the only’m thin’ I can find on Jonas is’m girl named ‘RoseThorn’. She worth invest’m’gatin’?” Horris’s eyes turned from a deep black to a bright yellow, a focused stare that pierced Blackstar’s. He nodded.  
“She’s possibly related to me. I’d love to find more about her.” He said, moving from the bed to the beanbag chair. Horris gave a short nod and turned the blocky white computer to Blackstar.

_ Two weeks later, January 21st, 2110…  _

In a forgotten corner of the city’s slums, in a house forgotten by time, Blackstar rummaged through the debris. It wasn’t a very large home, just big enough to support a family of three. The house was almost destroyed, be it by bullets, fire, or nature reclaiming it. Homeboy had decided to venture into the house, urban exploration being his ‘hobby’. Also helped that this was the remnants of Jonas' old house, found by Horris and his researching skills.   
Blackstar pushed a door, the locks rusted shut. The old door caved in, and he took a startled step back. The door led to a dark, smelly basement. The stairs were somehow intact, despite their wooden composition. He shivered as the Visions gave him small, brief snippets of memories in the home. There were shouting matches, binge drinking, and a horrible man; all the sights made him want to vomit. Jonas was in them all, so they had to be at the right place. He managed to walk down the stairs, reaching the dirt floor of the basement.

A huge machine stood in the farthest wall, wet dirt and bugs the only decor for the macabre monster. Blackstar’ breath hitched, and he started to shake. Visions threatened to appear and make him suffer the pain that others would, or already had. He wanted to run away, to leave Homeboy alone and lost- he smacked his face, shaking his head. He willingly came on this journey, and Homeboy wasn’t lost. The Visions would NOT control him this time.   
Blackstar walked around the strange basement, seeing only the machine and a broken and blood soaked bed, shoved under the stairs. The blood was green and red, splattered like someone laid on the mattress with a big wound. The whole scene was dry and scentless. Blackstar made his way back to the weird machine, curiosity quickly growing. He put his hand up to the steel turnstile on the machine, forcing his breath to even out. 

“I wonder what this was used for…” He wondered out loud. He saw a lever on the ground, pushed to the side that said ‘off’. A strange shiver crept across Blackstar, making him wonder just what he should do. He grabbed the rust coated lever, and pulled on it softly. It didn’t budge. He pulled it harder, and a loud screech rang out as the lever slowly grinded to the other side. He stood out of breath as the air began to get electric.

The machine, once inactive, began to come alive. Blackstar jumped back, feeling the ceiling start to crumble down on him. The machine powered up fully. A dull melody began to play from a speaker, slowing down and speeding up at inconsistent times.  Blackstar tried to flee, but he was frozen stiff. Blackstar could see a nightmare from where he stood; a skeleton from a human was inside the machine’s chamber. A small glowing light flickered from its chest, orblike and getting brighter with each passing note.

The melody, louder now, reached its climax, and the machine gave a burst of light. The shockwave of the machine moving caused the basement’s wall to collapse inwards, onto the machine.  Blackstar saw someone he didn’t recognize now in the machine, the skeleton replaced with a child. He flead upstairs before the house could trap him. He found Homeboy, looking scared, and the two ran from the house together.

The machine gave one final note before the machine stopped with a low hiss. The house was destroyed fully, most of it sinking into the massive basement. But, the machine was protected by wooden beams that kept the debris from falling on or covering the titanic beast. The turnstile opened, small hands pushing the old metal.

A young boy stepped out of the container, new limbs stretched high as he yawned. He wasn’t as he was before- the rebirthing session was a success. He was young- about 6 years old, and fully aware of the world around him. He kept his memories of the life far behind him, and the regret that came with them. He climbed out of the ruined house, and headed to the center of the large, desert guarded city.

_ December 15th, 2110…  _

Blackstar stood in a bus stop, waiting for his ride. He was to go to the eastern part of the city, the place his father used to roam. He was nervous because he came alone. He wanted to go by himself, so he could experience everything without a second opinion. The bus soon pulled up, and Blackstar and the other people filed in.  He got seated, mind running faster than the bus could possibly drive. He felt someone sit down next to him, breaking his trance. A boy sat with a determined face, deeply invested in a poorly scrawled map. He was clad in a dual-tone green shirt, had a short mane of curly, dark green hair, and deep black eyes. They looked just like Jonas', albeit more worn out. Blackstar couldn't help but take a second look. He was young, about 6 years old. He looked bored and-  
**_"Can… Can I Help You?"_ ** The child asked, turning his bored face to Blackstar. His voice sounded familiar, and made Blackstar’s spine shiver. His voice made the edges of his sight turn a sickly green. It was small and squeaky, like one a very young child would have.   
_ 'To be expected…'  _ Blackstar thought. "O-oh, sorry!" He said, turning away. "I couldn't help myself-"  
**_"Ah, Yes. I Have That Effect On People… My Name Is Marvyin, If You Care."_ ** He said, holding out a small hand. Blackstar took it and they shook.  **_"Where Are You Off To, If I May Ask?"  
_ ** "I-I'm going to see my dad's old stomping grounds. He, uh, was a detective here." Marvyin nodded, smiling softly.   
**_"I See. You Must Be… DetectiveStar's Child, Then?"_ ** Blackstar's mouth went dry.   
"Yeah! You know about him?" Marvyin let out a soft chuckle.  
**_"Kinda. I'm Jonas'... Old Roommate. I Might Not Look Like It Now, But…”_ ** He shrugged, leaning back in his seat.  
"You're…" Blackstar trailed off, remembering what Hollie and the others said, and the color-shifting argument. But he also remembered that Marvyin looked too young to even be on the bus alone. "I-I've heard about you…" Marvyin nodded, smiling nervously.  
**_"I'm Sure You Have! But, Li'l Star, I Should Let You Know, I Was Addicted To Things I Really Shouldn't've Been- But Now I'm Clean, And In A Better Place. Well, Obviously…”_ ** He said with a small frown. Blackstar nodded, still feeling suspicious.  **_"I'm Looking for Jonas Right Now, Actually. Do You Know Where He Is?"_ ** Blackstar shook his head.  
"He's been missing for a few months. The police aren't looking into it, because of his, uh, connections.”  
**_“... How… Insane!”_ ** He frowned.  **_“The Pigs Are Always Horrid With Those Who Follow A Second Law, Huh?”_ ** He growled. Blackstar finally knew where Jonas got his weird speaking from.  
“Y-yeah? I don’t know what you mean by that, though…” He said, and Marvyin nodded.  
**_“Don’t Worry Your Curly Haired, Pale Skinned Head, Blackstar! You Should Keep Me Updated, Though! Here’s My Number.”_ ** He scrawled down a number on a slip of paper that he pulled from his pocket. Blackstar looked at it- legible but only by a slim margin. He slipped it into his phone case.  
“T-thanks? But, u-uh, may I ask how you look so young?” Marvyin smiled sheepishly.  
**_“I Am Very Young! It’s A Long Story, And I Fear We Don’t Have Time For That…”_ ** The bus stopped, and Blackstar got up.  
“I see. Thanks for the chat, Marvyin.” He said as he left. Marvyin just nodded and smiled as the doors closed and the bus pulled away.

His father’s old studio was shut down, boarded up, and locked. Though no obvious way to enter was to be seen, Blackstar made do. He entered through a small hole in the second story’s rear window.  The room was dark and filled with old bookcases and filing cabinets. Boxes full of evidence were haphazardly placed, like the room was left in a hurry. He walked through the piles, trying not to disturb or break anything. 

He saw a box with a label reading  _ “Sluice”. _ He opened the old cardboard flaps and saw a file holder, papers, photos, a tattered, moth eaten top hat, and a large book. He smiled and closed the box again, grabbing it and moving it to the window. He was going to take these things back to David, he was sure of it.  He grabbed his phone from his pocket and texted his boyfriend.

**\--** **_Black*:_ ** _ David! I’ve got news! _

**_\-- David <3: _ ** _ ok. owo. _

**_\-- Black*:_ ** _ I found some of your old things in my dad’s old studio. _

**_\-- David <3:_ ** _ o-o. really?? _

**_\-- Black*:_ ** _ Yes! _

Blackstar took a picture with his old, crappy phone and sent it to David.

**_\-- David <3: _ ** _ uwu yES!! pwease take them! i wanna see my stuff again! _

**_\-- Black*:_ ** _ Already planned on it! Ily, take care xox. _

**_\-- David <3:_ ** _ OWO xox! _

He put his phone away, smiling. Turning to the sea of evidence, he moved to the door of the room and opened it.

The hall was empty of life, filled instead with tables and wooden beams. The ceiling was caving in, some rooms completely gone. One room was completely intact, the plaque on the door reading  _ “Starr” _ .  Blackstar felt giddy and opened the door, face split in a smile. The room was completely black, so Blackstar used a flashlight he had brought. He saw that the room was practically empty, except for a steel table with tiny fist markings and a hole in its center.  He walked up to it and ran his fingers across it, heart racing. He saw that the table had been marked with a sentence; “DS’s fault.” His sight was suddenly plunged into darkness, and Blackstar felt himself fall to his knees.

Voices echoed in, one unfamiliar and one unnervingly familiar. He saw through the familiar voice's eyes. He was at a table, an ashtray to his side. Papers were scattered on the steel before him, all crime scene evidence. The unfamiliar man’s face was covered by a hat, hand to his cheek as he tapped a pen to a notebook. The familiar voice, Coach Zed, started speaking.  
 **"U-uh~... Y-yes~... I was the one to introduce them~. I thought we could’ve made it a three way affair, but she said one man was enough~..."** Coach Zed said, a nervous and embarrassed twang in his voice. The room was monochrome, black. The unfamiliar man’s mouth turned into an infuriated scowl. The man jumped up, standing on the chair he was sitting on.  
 **"YOU** ** _KNEW?_** **AND WERE THE ONE TO MAKE IT** ** _HAPPEN??”_** The man shouted, slamming his notebook onto the table. His voice made the room become orange tinted.   
**“N-now hold-”** The man, a bronze haired Runner, reached over the table, and grabbed Coach’s shirt, and lifted him up with unforeseen strength. The enraged man started to shake him violently.   
**“HOW DARE YOU?!”  
** " **I-I'm sorry~! She’s just so wonderful~~! You h-”** The man cut him off by delivering a swift punch to his stomach. The man howled a loud, enraged scream, clawing at his long and bronze hair. Blackstar couldn’t help but think of Jonas' hair- they both bore the same widow’s peak and twin side bangs.  
In a sudden burst of rage, the man punched a hole in the steel table, banging on it with his tiny fists. Blackstar finally saw the man’s face clearly, a large angry scar slashed across his face. The coach gasped, and Blackstar almost did the same.

_ 'Dad?’ _ The Vision faded, the throbbing in his torso fading faster. He was standing, but holding the table and his chest. He was sobbing silently, and fell to the floor. He shook wildly, mind enraged and confused. A simple voice echoed in his mind.   
**“A star child will rise to become a preventer of doom”.**

Blackstar ran from that place as fast as he could. He didn’t care about exploring anymore, he knew there was risk of more horrendous Visions of his father’s past. He didn't want to think about it- didn't want the illusion of the perfect father ripped away with traumatic claws. Blackstar took the box of David’s things, and hightailed it home. He didn’t even consider taking the bus, he took the long way around and using back alleys as passages to his home. 

When he reached the apartment building, he released his held breath, knowing nothing stopped him from his warm bed and cold boyfriend. He only made it into the living room before being stopped. “Hey-” Tuo greeted her son, but stopped when she saw his puffy eyes. “Oh stars, what’s wrong?”  
“I-I…” He felt fresh tears come to his eyes. The confession that the coach said still stung, his heart still beating in sync with his father’s from the past. “I w-went to my dad’s studio- an… and found s-some… things of his-” He sniffled, holding up the box with the label against his body.  
“Oh, my little love…” She put her hand on his cheek, wiping away his tears with a thumb. “Come here.” She pulled him into a hug, and he leaned into her shoulder. “You didn’t steal them, did you?” She asked and Blackstar felt guilt gnaw his bones.  
“No.” He was getting better at lying. Tuo pulled away from the hug, and gave Blackstar a reassuring smile.  
“Alright, then. Dinner tonight is whatever you can find.” She vanished into the shadows of the home, and Blackstar scurried away to his illuminated room.

David was on the floor when Blackstar entered. He quickly jumped up, a wide grin threatening to come off his face. Blackstar’s sadness melted off as David gave him a big hug.  
“You’re  _ back! _ Did you get my stuff?” Blackstar nodded, handing him the box.  
“This was all I found, but it’s still better than…” He trailed off after seeing that David wasn’t listening. He sat next to David and watched as he dug through the old, dusty items.

David opened the large book that was unremarkable, and he choked back a sniffle. It was a photo album, and the first page had a picture that was of David, back when he wasn’t a vampire, two lions, and a plastron woman. A caption on the bottom read ‘ _ For my darling Sluice. Til death do us part. - Jane. _ ’  
“This was  _ my _ old crew.” David said, taking the charge out of the atmosphere. 

He pointed to the small, anthropomorphic lioness, who looked no older than a few months, yet stood taller than Culleron.   
“This is Love. She chose  _ that _ name…” Love had a small mane of curly brown fur around her head, and had brownish red fur. She wore a suit which was a dusty grey. She had a pin on her shirt that was a blue-pink-white striped button. She was smiling widely with her arm linked with Culleron’s, both holding up peace signs.

He moved his finger to the older lion, who was standing on his hind legs, like Love. “This  _ was _ Nathan, though we just called him Ace. He’s Love’s  _ cousin.” _ Blackstar nodded. Ace had a large black mane, with deep red fur and a starkly contrasting white suit. A pin on his shirt had a black-grey-white-purple button. He had a stern look, but was faintly smiling.  
“This,” He moved his finger to the plastron lady, “ _ was _ Jane, my wife…” He frowned angrily. She wore a large sun hat, blue in color, with a small deep red bow tied around it. She had long, black hair, and a scowl so harsh, Blackstar felt she was more fit to run a shotty orphanage than be a criminal’s wife. She had no pins on her short flapper’s dress, and Blackstar noticed that Culleron didn’t have any either.  
“Oh…” Blackstar had no words, but wanted to comfort his boyfriend still.  
“Is she  _ still _ alive? I hope to  _ God _ she isn’t.” He looked up to Blackstar.   
“I-I don’t know, actually!” He said, smiling awkwardly.   
“No use  _ crying _ over spilled love.” He said, coldly. He then perked up, a sly smile on his face. “Speaking of love, what  _ happened _ to Love?” Blackstar shrugged, but brought out his phone.   
“We can always check?” David grinned even wider and brought out his own phone. They spent the rest of the night checking records about the old members of David’s criminal Pack. 

Turned out that Ace was arrested in conjunction with Jane, as he helped her with a false alibi and other criminal activities. Love was sent home to her grandfather after a night in jail for her acts, seeing as she was just a minor at the time. Blackstar found she worked at Courier's Saloon, days and Saturday nights. He’d give her a visit if the time allowed.  
But Jane? Still alive, on the run after busting out of jail with Ace.

  
  


_ During the night… _

A door opened, waking up Blackstar. He was frozen, paralized by his mind. Two shadowy figures were over his bed, looking at him with bright red eyes that glowed in the dark. One was larger, taller and with a glowing scowl. The other was shorter and frowning softly. They seemed not to notice Blackstar’s wide eyes.

**_“Do you see this, boy?”_ ** The taller one said, turning slightly to the other. His voice was like nothing Blackstar had heard before. It sounded… evil.  
**“Yes, sir.”** Jonas' voice responded. He stepped closer, and Blackstar could see the familiar outline of Jonas' massive mane of hair and resting bitch face. Except it wasn't an annoyed expression; he looked frightened and very, very intimidated.   
**_“Who is this? What’s his relation to you?”_ ** The tall figure asked, voice sounding uninterested.  
**“Blacks-star. He’s m-my friend-”** The tall man’s scowl grew deeper, Jonas flinching. He turned fully on Jonas, grabbing his hair at the base. He pushed Jonas' face close to his own, and Blackstar saw the horrified look that the missing man had in the red lighting.  
**_“Why would you ever be friends with a pitiful, disgusting monster like this!"_ ** He yelled. The man threw Jonas to the floor, stomping on his wrists. The boy only gave a soft whimper, withdrawing his hands to his chest.  **_"This…_ ** **THING…** **_destroyed my life, and he'll destroy yours too. You need to kill it before it gets too late. Stand up.”_ ** Jonas did as asked, face covered by his hair.  **_“Now, I’ll ask again. Who is this?”_ ** The man turned back to Blackstar.  
**“Blackstar. J-just a-another person who deserves to hurt… like you did.”** The tall man smiled.  
**_“Now you’re learning. We'll end its tyranny in August. Let's go.”_ ** The man looked deeply into Blackstar’s eyes. The glowing made him squint, and he blinked.

The glowing eyes were gone, replaced with Blackstar’s room. Jonas was still there, looking out the window. He frowned as he opened it, turning his head to the now fully awake Blackstar.   
_ “Don’t leave.” _ He whispered, getting up. Jonas shook his head and put his hands to his mouth. Blackstar walked over, grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him into a hug.  _ "I'm not mad at you. Nobody is mad at you, please just… stay… We’ll get rid of that man together.” _ Jonas sighed and gave Blackstar a tight squeeze as he buried his face into his friend’s neck.  
_ “I-I wish I could stay, Curly, but that guy’s more powerful than me. Take this.” _ Jonas slipped his hand into his pocket and gave him a vile of a sparking red liquid. He gave him a small kiss on the muzzle, bonking his forehead against Blackstar’s.  _ “Drink it. It’ll help when… the Eyes March.” _ And with that, Jonas slipped out the window, onto the fire escape, and leapt off the building.  
Blackstar looked at the vile, and saw it was blood. He shivered, but opened the small prismatic vile and drank the ice-cold blood. It tasted sweet, like root beer. It made him woosey, and he stumbled back to his bed. When he woke again, he wanted to think it was all just a strange dream. He told nobody about it.

_ Weeks passed since that night… _

Blackstar woke when the whole house shook. A loud bang had startled him, making him take a few deep breaths. When he realized what was going on, he smiled. It was raining. David had fallen off the bed, landing hard on his face.   
“David! Look, it’s finally raining!” He got out of bed, racing over to the window and opening it. Soft pitter-pattering on the fire escape put Blackstar’s mind at ease, the occasional drip splashing his muzzle putting his body at rest. “I love the rain…” He purred, turning to see David on the windowsill.   
“Whenever it rains, it  _ floods _ , love. That’s  _ really bad!” _ He said. Blackstar huffed but nodded.  
“True, but let me have this. I’ve been here, what, three years? And this is the first time it’s rained?” He smiled down at his boyfriend. The vampiric mob president looked out the window, and just nodded.   
“Sur-” A loud clap of thunder ripped through the sleepy city, making the two men jump.   
“I bet this is hell for Bectro. You think he’s scared of thunder?” Blackstar asked, looking at the streets that were starting to flood.  
“We  _ could _ ask. Might be just a  _ little _ bit rude, though.” Culleron responded. Blackstar nodded, lips puckering with regret.   
“True, true…” With that, he closed the window, scooped up his boyfriend, and left the room.

The living room was occupied by Homeboy, who was sipping tea on the couch.   
“Greeting.” He said.  
“Hey, Homeboy.  _ Storm _ wake you?” David asked.  
“No. Didn’t sleep.” He gave a shy smile. “Tea? Can make more.” He offered, but the two lovers shook their heads.  
“No, but thanks Homie.” The building shook again with another clap of thunder. Homeboy looked up, and frowned.  
“Too loud. Cause?” He looked at Blackstar, his heterochromatic blue eyes boring deep into Blackstar’s black ones.  
“There’s a thunderstorm happening. We used to get them often in Plainstown.” Blackstar shrugged. “Nothing to worry about, besides the flooding.” Homeboy grinned and shook his head. Blackstar sat down, and Homeboy automatically cuddled up to him.   
“I’ve never asked, but  _ how _ did you get that scar?” David suddenly said, moving from Blackstar’s shoulders to his lap. Homeboy looked to the side, thinking.  
“Sent from future, strange man, possibly Jo. Accidental fall. Can’t remember. Very fuzzy.” He explained, taking a large drink afterwards.   
“W-wait you’re from the future..?”   
“Correct. Coach and Tiny. Planned.” Homeboy yawned and drank his tea.  
“B-but wait, he… Dad’s dead!” Blackstar snarled, getting a shocked look from David and Homeboy.  
“... Change that.” Homeboy said. Blackstar looked at him baffled, but was ripped from confusion when the elevator dinged and in came Bectro and his family. Metronome was wrapped in a blanket.  
“Bectro!” Homeboy said, perking up.  
“Hey, are you guys able to house us for a while? Storm’s got us wilder than the desert is hot.” Bectro asked, ears folded back. Blackstar nodded, a soft smile on his muzzle.  
“Of course!” He said as Metronome sat on the couch along with Bectro, the young pup snuggling against his boyfriend. Bec stood idly in the doorway, his face sad. “Mr. Quirrel, you can sit too.” Blackstar fidgeted with his hands. Bec looked shocked, eyes nervous.   
**_“Ah, thank you. I’ll have to decline, however.”_ ** Bectro frowned at his dad, but said nothing. Blackstar nodded, shrugging. He was trying to contain the urge to run, and he contained it well.   
“S-so, how are you guys?” Blackstar asked, trying to make small talk.   
“We’re good. Search party’s been disbanded, finally. I don’t think we’d be able to find him, anyway. Think he’s dead.” Metro shook his head, sighing.  
“Unfortunate. Thankfulness.” Homeboy softly said, face in Bectro’s chest. Bectro hugged him close and looked at Blackstar. He gave him a look, one that spelled nobody cared about the attempts.  
“Yeah… Thanks, Metro. You’re the best.” Blackstar smiled, to which Metro shrugged.   
“Eh, ‘s no problem.” He coolly purred.

Small footsteps rang out through the darkened house, and all the dogs perked up. Blackstar turned, and saw Tuo-bull, fully dressed and wearing tall boots.  
“Hey, Tu-be!” Blackstar said as the eight-year-old waddled into the living room.  
“Hello! Why is the sky cwying, big bwro?” Everyone laughed.  
“It’s called rain, Tu-tu. It happens rarely in the desert.” He answered. Tuo-bull frowned, and swished his tail.  
“Whatevwer! I wanna play in it. Can I?” He asked, sweetly.   
“What did your  _ mom _ say?” David asked.  
“She’s not awake. I weally wanna go out!” He put his chin on Blackstar’s knee, eyes shiny in the dark-blue room.  
“Well, no one else wants to go out, sweetpea. So, uh, no.” Blackstar said. Tuo-bull angrily frowned and huffed loudly, walking out of the room. 

Blackstar heard his door open and the window unlock and open before he and the rest of the Pack sprang up to stop Tuo-bull. They ran into the room, but saw Tu-be’s tail slip out the window.   
“Tu-be, get back inside!” Blackstar yelled, sticking his head out the window. Tu-be was on the fire escape, heading to the stairs.  
“No! I can be safe, Blackstar! Don’t worry!” He said. Blackstar crawled out the window, David on his shoulders. David jumped off and raced to the child, who ran quickly to the corner. David leapt at Tuo-bull, but missed when he turned. David let out a startled yelp, and fell.   
**_“DAVID!”_ ** Blackstar shouted, quickly racing to the rail. He saw David, in his bat form, slowly gliding down to the ground. Blackstar gave a relieved sigh, facepalming. He also saw Tu-be, running down the stairs and into the flooded alley. Blackstar followed suit, getting soaked through his light clothes and hair falling in his eyes.

On the street level, Blackstar joined again with David, then ran out to the sidewalk. Bectro, Metro, Bec, and Homeboy were already there, yelling at Tu-be who was splashing in the flooded street.   
“You’ll get hit!” Metro called. Another strike of thunder drummed out, sending the dogs to scamper behind Blackstar.  
“Hit by what?” Tu-be turned to the group, standing in the middle of the crosswalk. He splashed more, smiling as the rain was suddenly illuminated. A truck came speeding, going way too fast for the road conditions. Blackstar was frozen, his body refusing to work. In a split second, Bec ran out into the street, faster than a bullet but just as effective.  
**_“That truck!”_ ** Bec grabbed Tu-be, throwing him effortlessly to Blackstar’s arms. He ran back, as soon as his paws hit the curb a truck ran through the road, faster than it should’ve due to the rain.   
“That was dangerous, Tu-be! You could’ve gotten hurt.” Blackstar scolded. Tuo-bull shrunk in his arms, frowning.  
“I-I’m sowwy, bwothew…” He said, big shiny eyes full of regret.  
**_“Well, now you know better,”_ ** Bec said,  **_ “now, let’s get out of the rain, we all will catch colds at this rate.” _ **

_ After a few days…  _

Blackstar woke up to a knock on his bedroom’s door. He checked the time, 8:30 am, and sighed loudly. “Come in!” He said, sitting up. David hadn’t stayed the night last night, so he was alone. Coach Zed opened the door, and waved.   
**“Hey, champ~! We really ‘aven’t gotten a chance to talk, so I thought we could use today to, uh, get somethin’ to eat, an’ uh, hang out~?"** He said, nervously scratching his furry face. **“Cause, uh, we ain’t doin’ anythin’ today~.”** Blackstar sleepily nodded, grinning softly.   
“I’d love that. Let me get dressed an’ I’ll meet you out there.” The Coach nodded and left. Blackstar got dressed, grabbing his father’s journal on his way out.  
Coach Zed was sitting on the couch, one leg over the other. Blackstar took a moment to look over the adult. The feline-man had short white-and-brown colored fur, curling slightly at the ends.  His ears were sharp, without scaring, and with a brown mark at the tip. His eyes were pure white, pupil, sclera, and iris blending together. His face had no mouth, hidden beneath his fur, Blackstar presumed.  He wore a purple and blue hat, along with a green sweater and sweatpants. His hands, white with brown fingers, were equipped with small, retractable nails, and pinkish paw-pads on the palmside. His feet were of the same, however his markings were inverted. He had a short tail, white with a brown tip. He was quite chubby, a perfect dad bod.  
**“Hey, didn’t notice ya~.”** Coach’s voice ripped Blackstar from his mind.  
“Huh- oh, yeah. I’m… silent like that.” Blackstar smiled, watching as Coach stood and made his way to the elevator, with Blackstar following like a little duck.

“So, Coach, I wanted to show you this.” They were in Courier’s Saloon, sitting in a booth near the bar. Blackstar hesitantly pushed his dad’s journal to Coach, who took it in gentle paws. He skimmed it, landing on a certain page. His face fell, yet he gave a soft chuckle.   
**“You know, I never got that apology he said he’d give me~. I do forgive him, don’t get me wrong, just… funny he’d write that he did~.”** Coach said with a low voice. Blackstar nodded.   
“He said a lot of things, then never got around to doing them. He did remember them, but only when I asked.” Blackstar sighed, shaking his head. “He was always… so forgetful with things like that. If it didn’t have a deadline, he almost always forgot. Surprised he hadn’t lost his head by the time I was born…” Coach nodded, a hand to his cheek as he flipped through the pages.  
**“You know, we actually used to be good friends~.”** He suddenly said.  **“But, The Ugly One kinda… took over, I guess~.”** Blackstar nodded.  
“About her… I heard she was murdered?” Coach nodded, eyes grinning.  
**“Well, yes. But,”** he leaned in close,  **“don’t tell anyone I said this, but we called a hit on her~. She was too much of a threat after you and your dad left the city~.”** Blackstar gave a bored frown.  
“I know. I heard you say that-” He cut himself off, covering his mouth and looking off to the side.  
**“W-when~? We’ve never talked about her around you~.”**   
“It’s hard to explain, but sometimes people or things will like… trigger me into a flashback sort of thing? But it’s not really a flashback, because they ain’t ever my own memories. They’re always about… s-suffering… Sometimes it's things that will happen, o-or have already happened.” Blackstar took a breath, tongue numb from the long winded talking. Coach nodded, closing his eyes.  
**“I heard of somethin’ like that before~. People called it ‘prophet sight’, an’ anyone who had it were all systematically… ‘removed’ from the populis~.”** Coach’s claws came out as he talked, digging into the table.  **“All thanks to the law makers~.”** Blackstar felt dread in his stomach.  
“Does that mean-”   
**“You’ll be killed~?”** Coach gave a dismissive wave of the paw. **“No, they stopped that practice after a rebellion from a strange human caused the city to get half-wrecked. This was all years ago, ‘round 2009.”** Blackstar sighed, and rested his face on the table.  
“That’s good to hear… I don’t wanna be killed just because I’m different… Powers or not.” Blackstar gently tapped his fingers along his snout, tense.  
**"Y’know, I heard they made a whole cult around that guy~! I wouldn't interact with them, they're… a doomsday cult~. Real harmful stuff, if they get their claws int' ya~."** Blackstar nodded, sighing.

A reddish brown lioness, wearing a blue-and-white bartender’s outfit, walked to the duo, a pad of paper in her light brown paws. Her head was surrounded by a small mane of curly, deep brown hair. Her eyes were deep yellow-orange, looking like amber. She was tall, about 5’8 feet, though much shorter than the now 6’5 Blackstar. A name tag, golden, “Love Leon”. Beneath that was a small button that said ‘she/her’.  
“Howdy, I’m Love, your waitress. What would you folks like t' drink today?” Her voice was deep, very smooth, and made Blackstar feel at home. Blackstar looked her over, seeing she was, indeed, the lioness from David’s old crime family. She looked very tired, but had a small, friendly smile on her face; however, two long and sharp canines poked through her lips.  
**“Water for both of us, please~.”** Coach purred, while Blackstar lifted his head in surprise.  
“W-wait, Miss,  _ you’re _ Love?” She gave a small nod, smiling.  
“Yes, I just said that. D’ you know me from somewhere?” He nodded, fervently.  
“Y-yes, you were from, uh, Da- uh, Clades’ group?” She stiffened, and so did Coach. She looked around the room, scanning the three people that were scattered about, and nodded.  
“I was. But, I've put that far behind me. How'd ya even know about that?” Her voice made Blackstar shrink in his skin, and he averted his eyes to Coach’s. He was giving him a deep, warning stare.  
“H-he’s alive again.” Love’s face grew brighter, a huge smile breaking her maw.  
“R-really? You better not be jokin’, or else I’ll…” She gave her fist a shake, and Blackstar smiled.  
**“He’s not joking, dear~. He now goes by David Culleron, though~.”** Coach said, to which Love nodded.  
“Of course he’d pick that name…” She smiled at her paws, before looking back at her customers. “I’ll be back with your drinks, then maybe we can talk more.”

It wasn’t a long wait at all. Love had given them their drinks, then pulled up a chair from one of the nearby tables.   
“So, what happened t’ him? I saw him die, how is he alive ‘gain?” Blackstar took a hesitant sip from his water, and Coach shook his head.  
 **“I have nothin’, Blackstar’s the one who knows the most~. I haven’t talked t’ him since the day he died, so~…”** Coach shrugged and Love nodded.   
“So, he’s a vampire now, and it’s a curse.” He looked to Love, seeing her nod.   
“Ah, a vampire… I’ve never ‘eard of a real life one.” She purred, a paw to her chin. “Where’s David livin’? Certainly can’t be in his old house, cause I live there now…” Blackstar smiled.  
“He’s w-with me! We’re dating, a-actually…” He said, a blush crawling on his face. She gasped loudly, a huge, fanged smile on her furry face.  
“He’s _finally_ datin’ a man?” She laughed, muffling her loud giggles with her paw. “I _knew_ that damned lassie was holdin’ him back.” Coach smiled, shaking his head.  
 **“Don’t forget, he was once with me, Love~.”** He purred, looking at Blackstar.  
“H-he was..?” Sputtered Blackstar, surprised. Love gave a loud, rumbling laugh.  
“Hah! So _that’s_ why ya two were s’ close!” Coach nodded, eyes squinting like a cat who was content. “Dang. I miss the ol’ sonuva bitch. You,” she pointed to Blackstar with a claw, “should bring’ ‘im ova.”  
“P-planning on it, miss.” She gave him a sharp, sweet smile. “D-do you have any stories about him? I’d like to know more about him…” He drank more of his water, watching her mull the thought over. Coach nodded, counting on his fingers as he silently thought.   
**“Well, he wasn't dead for too long… only three years when he came back~.”** He said, shrugging.  
“Yeah. B’sides, you should know lots about’m! He’s got looser lips than Jonas.” She drummed her paws against the table, nodding.  
 **“Really~? He’s been a ball of secrets for me~.”** Coach purred, looking intently at Love. She nodded, smiling her fanged smile and chuffed.  
“Well, it might be ‘cause he doesn’t wanna hurt ‘cha.” She gave a half-hearted shrug as Coach rolled his eyes. “So, curly fur,” she said, "how'd you even meet him?" Blackstar blushed faintly, leaning back and puffing out a sigh.   
"W-well, funny story! He, uh, killed Jonas! I-in this bar, right over there." He pointed to the hall where the bar's bathrooms were. "David slashed Jonas' neck, the police shot them both, aaaand he didn't die from it! B-both of them, I mean." Coach and Love laughed, nodding.   
"Go on!" Love leaned in, smiling wide.   
"Well, after the Pack started goin' home, he uh, kinda dragged me to his house! He wanted to know if I was my dad, TinyStar's, kid. I was so confused, a-an' kinda scared by him, but after a week or so of daily after-school visits, I grew t' like him! And that's it." He sighed, drinking more of his water. Love nodded, tapping her chin with a finger.   
"I see. Interestin' stuff! So, where _did_ he live?"  
"Out back, in an up-turned dumpster. It got raided and destroyed a while back, so he's been sleepin' with me." Coach snorted, and Blackstar gave him an embarrassed glare. "N-not like that! We haven't gotten to that in our relationship!" Coach nodded.  
 **"Heh, sorry, kiddo~. Force a' habit~."  
** "Well, I'm glad he's happy now! A friend of his is a friend of mine." Love stuck out a paw, and Blackstar took it. They shook, and Love stood up. "Welp, I've gotta get back t' work. Feel free t' swing by any time! Oh! And if you see Jonas again, tell him to get back to work, we need him." Blackstar felt cold, but forced a small laugh. She moved the chair back to its original table, and went back to the bar. A phone buzzed, and Coach groaned.   
**"Here, before I forget~."** Blackstar felt his father's journal being pushed against his arm, and took it back. **"I know we didn't get t' eat, but I've gotta run. Y'know, 'business' calls~."** Blackstar nodded, getting up. Coach put down a few bills then hurried out. 

  
  


Blackstar headed out, walking through the crowded streets to the school's plaza. The school was dark, water damage evident in the brickwork. It had police tape covering the front door. He shook his head, looking at the fountain. The wolf was as still as ever, making him breathe a melancholy sigh. Somehow he knew that it would move, perhaps when the city started burning. He laid in front on the floor of the plaza, placing his feet on the wooden bench that was placed before the fountain. Blackstar noticed a plague was installed into it.   
_ "In remembrance of The Soothsayer. May he destroy the doom of the city. 8.17.2009." _ For a strange reason, Blackstar felt a shudder strike him. He heard footsteps behind him, and strained his head to look.   
_ "Hey, you." _ It was that strange cat guy, Star.  _ "What're you doin' here?" _ He sat on the bench, resting his faux head on his knee.   
"I have the day for myself. Thought I'd come over here. I didn't know the school was so badly damaged." Star scoffed, his angelic-adjacent eyes squinting in humor.   
_ "Yeah. That shithole wasn't equipped for anything, least of all rain." _ He sighed, looking at Blackstar with a mix of sadness and brief hate.   
"... I hope you know that I know you're wearing a costume." Blackstar said. Star flinched back, shocked.   
_ "How?! This is supposed to be as realistic as can be!" _ Blackstar rolled his eyes, sighing.   
"Your face doesn't change, you have two mouths, and I can see where the mask ends and your shirt begins." Blackstar boredly said, counting on his hands. Star clicked his tongue in frustration, scratching at his arm. "Also I can see you're wearing gloves."  
_ "No, no. I get it. You're smart, kid." _ Star began removing his gloves, revealing pasty white skin.  _ "I… didn't want to tell you this soon… but I think you deserve to know the truth." _ He shoved the gloves into his pocket. He stood up, offering a hand to Blackstar, who took it and stood too.   
"What do you mean?" Star chuckled, putting his hands on both sides of his head.   
_ "This." _ He pulled off the feline head. Underneath the cat was a Runner, one with millions of dark olive eyes and a small, wry smile. They looked like his dad’s. He looked so much like his father, actually. His muzzle was even similar to his, though it was a bit more slim.  **_"I'm, uh, I-I'm-"  
_ ** "You're a furry?" Blackstar said what came to mind second. Star stood in stunned silence, but laughed after recovering.   
**_"Y-yeah. A furry. B-but…"_ ** He sighed, putting the head on the bench.  **_"It's hard to explain. But, uh, my name isn't Star. It's Cancer."_ ** Blackstar nodded.  **_"And I'm-"_ ** He was cut off by RoseThorn pouncing on him.   
"Cancer! There you are!" She signed, smiling. "I've been looking all over for you!" Cancer sighed, groaning.   
**_"Come on, Rosie. Am I not allowed even a_ ** **little** **_alone time?"_ ** He sarcastically said, rolling all of his eyes.   
"Not at all! The city is dangerous for a guy like you! You never know if he is out there!" She signed, hands frantic. Blackstar frowned.  
"Who is 'he'?" Blackstar asked, watching her hands. RoseThorn looked at him shocked, a small smile on her face.   
"You can understand Sign?" She asked, grinned widely. Blackstar laughed, nodding.   
"Well, yeah. I've been studying it for a long while, not just in school. A-also Hollie and the Pack are good teachers." RoseThorn sighed, content.  
"Good! We should hang out today! Just the three of us!" She started swaying, hands behind her back. It was rather cute, in that anime kind of way.   
"Alright! I’m free." Blackstar smiled.   
**_"Cool, what should we do?"  
_ ** "I think we should go to our house, Cici! Since Blackstar is our friend, we should give him a tour!" Cancer nodded. He grabbed the fursuit head, put it back on, and started walking. The two young adults followed suit. 

Blackstar watched as the trio walked into his apartment building. "You live here too?"  
_ "Huh? Yeah, have for a while." _ They walked into the elevator, and Cancer pressed the button for floor 4.   
"Oh, heh, you live one floor above my friends." Blackstar said, smiling. Cancer nodded, not really paying attention. Turning his focus to RoseThorn, Blackstar started marveling at her fur. It was now freckled brown along her spine and face, and she seemed even more fluffy than before. Blackstar would've bet everything he had that her fur was softer than anything, but he kept his hands firmly by his side.  The lift soon opened to a darkened home. The trio walked in, Cancer turning the lights on. It was a boring, plain home. A small couch sat in the center of the room, with no TV to be seen. The floor was similar in layout to Blackstar's, he realized. It was just… more budgeted. 

  
RoseThorn took him by the wrists and started showing him around. As they went to go to her room, though, Blackstar noticed pictures hung on the wall in the hall. They were of RoseThorn and Cancer, framed selfies that came from a recent phone. There was also another, much older picture. It was heavily faded, and was stained with something dark green. Blackstar knew that to be blood-- he'd seen that same hue countless times in his father's journal. The hand left his wrist.  
The photo had captured a Runner and his two children. One child was dressed in a grey dress, an angry expression on her face. Her right eye was obscured by curly bronze hair. The other was dressed in blue overalls, a kind expression on his face. He had a small shock of curly, platinum blonde hair. Blackstar saw that the older Runner had on a shirt with a strange symbol, one with two circles, two Ouroboros that didn't touch. The older Runner also had a smile on his face, but it was tired and the man held a glare that betrayed a deep rage in his eyes. He was bald. On the bottom, there was a caption, "Blue and Grey on their first day of school, April 2000." Blackstar felt a heavy dread hit his chest, dark deja vú wracking him. 

He blinked, a Vision appearing. He saw a swing suspended on a tree in a suburban backyard. He was crouching, face level with the swing. The small boy Runner from the picture was sitting on it. He was lifeless, eyes shut. He looked so sickly too, but had a small, content smile. A red, gloved hand came and rested on the kid's head, the rest of the body obscured by a black haze. Without even seeing the man, Blackstar knew who it was. He heard Jonas' voice, cracking with sorrow and regret.   
**"I'm s-sorry, BlueStar. This is all my fault… A-at least… you died happy, right?"** For one reason or another, Blackstar felt tears running down his face, and a feeling of rage hit him hard. 

He blinked, and saw he was back in the house, standing but his hands were shaking. RoseThorn was by his side, a concerned frown on her face.   
"Are you okay?" She asked. Blackstar nodded, swallowing his anger and whipped away his tears.   
"Y-yeah. I've got… powers that make me see past events, mostly to do with sorrow, or some shit like that." He chuckled when RoseThorn gasped angrily at his swearing, but continued. "I saw this picture and it made me see… somthin'." RoseThorn looked to the picture he was pointing to, her face falling and she grew nervous.  
"Oh right! That picture… Don't tell Cancer it's up there, okay? He'd rather forget his past." She grabbed the picture and lifted it off the wall, tucking it under her arm. "Come on, then. Let's go to my room." He followed her, not saying anything more. 

Her room was similar to Blackstar's, though it wasn't as neat and had different colored walls. She started to dismantle the picture frame, taking the picture out of it and replacing it with another, this time a candid shot of Cancer (in his suit) sitting on a rooftop. It was rather nice. She looked at the ancient photo, and turned it over.   
Blackstar looked, seeing it had "Cancer Starr (10), BlueStar Starr (3 months), GreyStar Starr (3 months)" written on it. That seemed to be the names of the people, along with their ages. Something made Blackstar unsettled. They had his last name. ‘ _ Why do they have my last name?!’  
_ "Blackstar, would you like this? I don't think I could keep this safe." RoseThorn asked, tapping the picture on his snout. He took it with gentle hands, and nodded.   
"Of course. I-I've been meaning to ask, but… are we related?" Blackstar looked her dead in the eyes, and watched as she hesitated, fumbling with her words.   
"Y-yes. Technically. You see, I'm a reincarnation of your first cousin, RoseThorn. She was murdered by some dude from St. Water's Port, along with her mom, RedStar. Cancer found me living in Rock Home and brought me here, something about keeping family together. But, I actually don't know how  _ he _ is related to us. He refuses to tell me, s-something about keeping up an old story he made to keep his kids happy." She sighed and looked Blackstar up and down.   
“But, what about you? How do  _ you _ feel about this?”  
"I'm actually… kinda- really scared. I don't really like living here, w-with him. He's nice, don't get me wrong, but he just… rubs me the wrong way. I think… it's almost like there's a part of him missing." Blackstar nodded with her words, a frown tugging at his lips. She gave a shaky sigh, hands trembling. "Can you… can you use your powers to see what made him… so distant?" She looked him in the eye, shoulders grabbed by hooved hands.   
"I-I can try! I've never actually… done something like that. But it… It doesn't hurt to try, I suppose." He nodded as she smiled, clapping. Her tail twacked the ground as she did a little happy dance.  
"Yes! Okay! Thank you so much! Anything can help."   
Blackstar looked down to the photo in his hands, looking at the adult. He focused, what made Cancer so sad? What was ripped from him that left him so hollow? Blackstar felt the darkness clouding his eyes, and he readily welcomed it.

Cancer's voice drifted in. It was slurred, muffled by something. Blackstar could only see darkened bronze, muzzle pushed into somebody's shoulder.   
**_"You're not gonna put somthin' on?"  
_ ** **"Please, 's not like we're gonna be compatible for kids."** He felt his skin run cold at hearing Jonas’ voice.   
_ ‘Why is it when something happens, it’s because of him?!’ _ Cancer pulled back, and Blackstar saw Jonas above him, clearly boozed out the brain and smirking wide.   
**_"You forget about STI's, or somthin', Jonas?"_ ** Jonas gave a cocky laugh, tilting his head.   
**"Oh,** **_I'm_ ** **clean! Are you?"  
** **_"Nev'a fucked bef'r, so yeah."_ ** A chuckle left his companion as Blackstar felt hands on his hips. The two shifted positions, Jonas’ head resting on Cancer’s broad and hairy chest.   
**"Oh, it's an honor to be your first, Canny."** Kisses were left along his neck, making him shiver and face heat up.  **“Let’s start the show, shall we?”**

Blackstar shook his eyes of the vision, seeing RoseThorn busying herself with cutting out and framing pictures and art. She looked over to him, and her face fell.  
“A-are you okay..? You, um, look a bit hot under the collar…” Blackstar felt embarrassment gnaw at him, and he nervously laughed.  
“Y-y-yeah I’m fine! J-just saw something… s-steamy… w-when I used my powers.” His ears felt like fire, and his pants felt a touch tighter. She laughed, and so did he. “I-if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna…”  
“No no, by all means, go ahead!” With a sigh he left to find the bathroom before he exploded from his first encounter with voyeurism.  After, he started mulling over the fact that Jonas and Cancer had a one night stand, that most likely resulted in kids. And he was responsible for one of them  _ dying _ . Jonas had some shit to explain the next time he showed up.

When Blackstar went back to RoseThorn’s room, she had finished whatever she was doing, and held out the picture to him. It was in a small protective frame.  
“Thanks, this… really helped me today.” He told her, smiling. She snorted a laugh and patted his shoulder, shaking her head with a roll of her eyes. “Not what just happened, I mean!” He gave her a frown while she laughed, immaturely. “You being related to me was one of the biggest questions I had. Thank you for answering it.”  
"It’s no problem, Blackstar." She signed, making the word for  _ black  _ and  _ star  _ across her eyes. They stood in an awkward silence before Blackstar cleared his throat.   
“Well, I don’t want to keep you, I’ll be going.”   
“It’s okay, Blackstar. I don’t mind the company. And don’t let what I said about Cancer change your mind about him, he’s sweet, but I’m a little homesick.” She smiled nervously. Blackstar sighed, but gently grabbed her wrist before he left.  
“Of course, Rosie. You’re the best cousin I could’ve ever asked for.” He hugged her, tightly, to which she gave him a strong hug back. “You’ve got my number, text me if you wanna talk.” He said, pulling back. She nodded, giggling. They made the walk to the elevator in silence. Cancer was nowhere to be seen.  
“See you, Blackstar.” She waved goodbye as the doors of the elevator closed, Blackstar waving back. He was right about her fur being soft. It was almost supernatural. 

The doors opened, and Blackstar walked into a strange situation. Waiting in Blackstar's living room was a very flustered Horris, and a particularly mischievous David. A cake was on the coffee table, pink and with roses on it. Horris instantly shot to his feet upon seeing Blackstar, face and eyes red. He ran behind him, shyly smiling.  
"Oh, thank God! David's got some weird… bitin' thing he wanted me t' do, a-an' I couldn't tell if 'e was jokin' or not!" He took a deep breath, shakily. Horris leaned against Blackstar as he sighed, rolling his eyes. He placed the picture of Cancer on the t.v stand.  
"David, what have we said about your feedin’s?" Blackstar said, like a scolding mother. David gave a bashful smile, knowing he wasn’t in trouble.  
"Only feed on those who're in the loop, I know, _ I know! _ But nobody's home, and Horris rocks up with this  _ adorable _ cake! And  _ that _ just got me hungry! And, well, can't  _ eat _ on an  _ empty _ stomach!" Blackstar sighed, crossing his arms. “And we don’t have any in  _ storage _ , so I couldn’t take it from there.”  


"Still. …Well, cat's outta the bag." Blackstar put a hand on Horris' shoulder, turning to the guy with a shrug. Horris jumped at the sudden contact. "Horris, David is a vampire." He turned his gaze down to the much shorter guy, who looked up at him with pink, embarrassed eyes. He stumbled a bit, standing straighter and adjusting his sunglasses.  
"O-oh. That's… cool!" He gave a timid and unsure smile, and Blackstar shrugged.   
"Don't worry, you're safe with me, I won't let him do anything." He said, sitting down next to David. Horris' face got even darker red, but he just sat back down, next to Blackstar this time.   
"W-well, I've got somethin' to tell'm you two, ‘c-cause we're spillin' secrets, I guess!" He chuckled, nervously and it trailed off quickly. "I-I might be misreadin’ this whole situat’n, ‘cause my adhd makes’m hard t’ do so, b-but! I think we’re friends, o-or’m somewhat close t’ that…” He cleared his throat, giving Blackstar time to nod.  
“I’d say we were friends.” He said.  
“I say we’re  _ best _ friends!” David piped up, resting his elbows on Blackstar’s lap. Horris gave a wide smile, hands on his cheeks.   
_ “G-golly, ya two’re spoilin’ me rottin’…” _ He whispered. “W-well… it’ll be easi’a t’ show ya, rath’a than explain…” Blackstar nodded, watching Horris’ hands intently as he slipped off his jacket, and revealed strong and muscled arms, rose stems growing around the pale flesh, like he was one of those things the people of Plainstown would grow vertical flower gardens on. The thorns looked sharp, but pointed outwards. No roses were seen. “I-I can make flow’as grow, be it on m’ skin or oth’awise… Th-that’s m’ secret.”   
“... Horris, that's the  _ coolest _ and  _ most amazing _ power I have ever  _ seen!” _ David said, smile wide, bright, and genuine. Blackstar nodded, hand reaching out to touch, yet respectfully didn’t.  
_ “It’s beautiful…” _ He whispered. Horris gave a choked noise, face split in an embarrassed grin.  
“O-oh really..? I-I wasn’t ‘spectin’ that response…” Horris sighed dreamily, red and pink roses appearing on the stems, new ones branching off. 

“Thank you for showing us this, Horris… I didn’t know us Runners could get powers… I thought I was the only one…” He gave a little laugh, and Horris nodded.  
“Mhm, me too! But’m… My powers came fr’m some guy in red wit’ real long hair an’ a temp’a. I was ‘ired to kill’m but… nev’a got around to it, ‘cause, well, ‘e…  _ charmed _ me. Really laid on the flirts an’ such. Then aft’a dat, I got pow’as.” Horris shrugged, laying his head on the back of the couch. Blackstar sighed.  
_ ‘It’s always Jonas.’ _ He thought. “Well, no matter how you got them, they’re still cool.”   
“Yeah, they’re cool because they’re  _ yours!” _ David chimed in, lightly touching the petals of Horris’ rose. To that he gave a wide smile, a shuddering sigh following.   
“I could say’m same f’r  _ your _ powers, Dave.” Horris gently took a rose between his fingers, plucking it off and setting it on David’s hat adjacent to the faux-feather. “Vamp’rs ain’t somethin’ y’ see ev’ry day.” Blackstar nodded.  
David laughed, face flushing green. “Speaking of vampire powers, I, err… wasn’t joking about needing blood for meals. Sucks but,” he shrugged, “what can I do.” Horris nodded, brows furrowing.   
“Will it… hurt?” Horris asked, frowning a little.   
“At first, but my fangs secrete some sort of pain blocker, so it’ll stop hurtin’  _ quick.” _ David smiled. 

Horris softly frowned but stuck out a wrist. David took it in deft hands, moved the vines away, and quickly sunk in his teeth. Horris’ eyes turned black from the sudden pain, the thorns sharpening, marigolds replacing roses. Blackstar waited patiently, a minute passing before David ceased. He gave the wounds a gentle lick, clotting them.  
“Ah, now that wasn’t so bad.” Horris said. David grinned.  _ “Now _ can we eat your cake?” He asked, sweetly. Horris turned to it, and sighed. His eyes turned a quivering greyish-yellow, and he chewed at his lip.  
“W-well, it’s really f’r Black’m’star. I’ve got more secrets t’ tell y’all.” He sighed. Blackstar sat up as Horris picked up the cake and showed it off to him. The face had roses lining the edge, and something written that made Blackstar’s blood almost boil. 

‘Sorry I almost killed your dad and killed your mom’ was cheerfully written in black cursive. Blackstar looked up from it, gaze boring into Horris. He looked down, eyes a scorching red, shame making his hands tremble. 

“You were the-” Blackstar cut himself off. He wasn’t about to call him a motherfucker for doing what The Ugly One told him to. He took in a deep breath, calming himself down. “... Thank you, Horris, for telling me this.” Horris looked up, shocked. “I forgive you.”   
Horris seemed at a loss for words, mouth opening and closing like a fish. His hands shook, so Blackstar moved the cake to the coffee table once more. Horris took off his glasses and wiped his eyes, fat tears rolling down his muzzle. His eyes were pale blue.  
“I-I-” He squeaked out, sniffing hard. “I w-was so worried you'd not want t-to be my friend still.” He breathily laughed. “I-I should be thank’m you!” Blackstar placed a hand on Horris’ cheek, a soft smile on his face.  
“It’d be impossible for me to not want to be around you, Horris.” He cooed, thumbing away his tears. David took Horris’ other cheek in his hand, a sad smile on his lips.  
“Yeah, just because you’ve done something in the past doesn’t mean you can’t be good  _ now.”  _ He said. Horris smiled wide, tears slowing.  
“Y-you guys… Y’all sound so sappy,” he laughed, “m-makes me think yer aboutta ask me out.” He chewed on his lip after saying that, a small flash of regret surging through his eyes.  
“Well…” David looked to Blackstar, who looked to David. They both nodded. “Horris, do you  _ want _ to date us?” David asked.  
“You most certainly can if you want.” Blackstar added. Horris straightened up, eyes going green with joy.   
“Y-You t-two-” He couldn’t even finish his sentence before bursting out into an even larger grin, flowers blooming all over his body. “Yes!” He chanted as he wrapped Blackstar and David into a bear hug, to which he earned one right back. It was all sealed with a kiss from each man.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mind the tags. This is where that major character death warning comes in :(  
> Also, this chapter gets very vulgar, with descriptions of violence, vomiting, and mass murder. Tread lightly! The author doesn't mean to trigger the reader, so a warning is in place! Thanks! Love and kisses, your beloved narrator.

_ One year passed…  _

It felt like forever since Blackstar and David had been on a date. The day started off cloudy, but that was a blessing. The school's building had finally been torn down as flooding had ruined most floors. The school's plaza and cafes were open, however. What a perfect place to have that long overdue date, the duo thought. Horris couldn't join them, as he had "business" to take care of. 

The loving couple set up a quaint picnic at the plaza, with a basket of sandwiches and wine at the foot of the large wolf fountain.  
"Isn't  _ this _ lovely?" David smiled, looking at his lover.   
"Absolutely!" He smiled back, laughing as a breeze kicked in and knocked off David's tophat. He laughed too, and ran to go grab it. Blackstar sat on the fountain seat, chuckling. When David sat down too, Blackstar kissed him on his small, button nose. David grinned wide, hugging his taller lover.  
Blackstar looked down to the basket, the air growing hot and windy, suddenly. He saw a human's shadow cover the school’s plaza, coming from the fountain above his head. Fear pricked his neck. The sun wasn’t that intense, at least not to cast any shadows.

He turned, getting up off of the fountain seat. A familiar figure stood on the wolf's open mouthed head. His massive mane of hair blew in the sharp wind, color obscured by the harsh afternoon sun. Two bright red eyes pierced Blackstar's own, burning with malice.   
"Blackstar?" David muttered, grabbing Blackstar's pant leg. "What's going  _ on?" _ Blackstar shook his head.   
"I don't know-"  
**_"BLACKSTAR!"_ ** The man barked, the wind picking up.  **"I come in the name of the Future Starfall. I hope you have prepared for his wrath."** He jumped, landing slowly behind the duo. Blackstar noticed that his voice sounded hoarse, like he was screaming after not using his voice for ages.  
"J-Jonas? What-" Blackstar started, before Jonas ran at him, large gloved hand balled in a fist. A powerful uppercut was delivered to his face, sending him up and backwards. He landed in the fountain, water splattering the stones.   
"Blackstar!" David cried before striking a fighting pose. He was quickly punted far away from a swift kick of Jonas' deft shoe.  
**_"DAVID!"_ ** Blackstar screamed, getting up and snarling at his so-called friend. Jonas snarled back, black and red eyes glowing with hatred. "What has gotten into you? When you disappeared two years ago, we  **_thought you died!"_ ** He dodged a punch, leaping to the top of the statue. He didn't know he could jump that high, but he was grateful for the quick dodge.  
**"Two years?"** Jonas frowned, standing in the water. He snarled, fists shaking in rage.  **"That’s nothing.”** He suddenly punched up, the fountain's wolf being completely destroyed from the sudden, mysterious force. Blackstar was thrown skyward, belly up and screaming. Jonas jumped, appearing above Blackstar and slamming him down with a sharp kick to his soft stomach. He hit the rocks hard, bouncing onto the dirty plaza floor from the sheer force. He managed to land on his feet, hard. 

**_"Blackstar!"_** Voices shouted. Hollie, Langley, Bectro, Homeboy, Horris, Cancer, RoseThorn, Maryvin, and Tuo-bull ran onto the battlefield. Blackstar spit, olive blood and spit dripping from his mouth. Tuo-bull raced over to his brother, dark eyes full of worry.  
"B-Big bwro!" He whimpered. Jonas landed on the destroyed monument of the wolf, the wind dying down. "W-who is that..?" He asked, shaking.  
"He's a…" Blackstar trailed off, looking at his old friend's eyes. He noticed they were inhuman, black sclera holding bright red glowing irises. **_"monster…"_** Tuo-bull looked to his brother's face, then to his brother's attacker.   
**"Oh, how pitiful you are!** ** _Pitiful,_** **Blackstar! Relying on your** ** _"friends"._** **"** Jonas snarled with a smile, an angered stare boring into his eyes. Tuo-bull stepped in front of Blackstar, in a defensive position.  
"Leave my brothew alone! What'd he ewwer do to you!?" He shouted. Jonas' face turned soft, and his fists untightened slightly. Tuo-bull smiled and he stepped forward. Jonas, in a flash, disappeared and reappeared in front of Tuo-bull. A quick lash from his leg, and Tuo-bull was on the floor. His head hit a piece of rock, and he was knocked out.   
**_"Tuo-bull!!"_** Everyone screamed.   
"Jonas, this has gone too far!" Hollie screamed, crying.  
 **"If** ** _this_** **is too far, then I’m about to go beyond!"** Jonas lunged, fists ready. 

Hollie dodged, using his gift of object levitation to throw a large rock towards Jonas. But, he countered, and the rock instead hit a shocked and frozen Homeboy in the face, killing him. Hollie froze, which allowed Jonas to strike the back of his neck with a strong kick, breaking it.  Cancer raced forward, lunging at the man with his fists. Jonas dodged his attacks, lightning fast jumps countering equally speedy strikes. Suddenly, Cancer tripped on a rock, and Jonas seized the moment to punch the Runner unconscious. His body was kicked to the fountain, spine connecting with the seat. RoseThorn ran to Cancer’s side as Jonas lunged at Marvyin. He opened his arms, letting him punch off his head.  Horris blindly raced into the forest as Bectro growled, cowering lowly at Cancer’s feet. Langley was huddled against him, overwhelming fear pulsating through him. How Blackstar could sense it, he didn’t know. But that was what made him move. Blackstar grabbed Tuo-bull's unconscious body and ran off, unable to do anything but run. He could only hear the loud death howls of the wolves, and wind howling as he ran, far, far away. 

The path to where Martin's tombstone sat was longer than what Blackstar remembered, but that could have just been the bloodloss. The stone memorial sat, sparkling black as the clouds began to cover the sun. He raced over to it, putting his free hand on Martin's face.   
"M-Martin… We need your help…" He whimpered, setting his young brother to rest on the grave. "Please help us…" He started tearing up, watching as dark red blood rolled out of Tuo-bull's mouth. "J-Jonas has… has…” He started sobbing, forehead against his brother’s. A sudden burst of cool air softly silenced Blackstar. The trees whispered, soothing whispers and Blackstar closed his eyes, tears falling slower.  
**_"BLACKSTAR, W-WHAT HAS HE DONE?"_ ** Martin appeared, tall, blue, and ethereal.  
"He a-attacked me and David, and-and killed Hollie, m-maybe even Langley a-and Bectro… and-and… hurt T-Tuo-bull…" Martin placed his astral hand on Blackstar's curly and bloodied hair.  
**_"I'LL … TAKE CARE OF HIM."_ ** He said, jumping and leaving small star-like dust clouds in his wake. Blackstar, still crying, laid on the floor of the forest and closed his eyes. The air grew hot and cold several times, the trees whispering with the sudden wind gusts. 

His eyes remained shut, until a small shake woke him. Opening his eyes showed David, green blood oozing from his nose. With him stood RoseThorn, who was coated in red and green blood. She looked frightened, and her hands shook frantically.  
“Hey, love- that guy  _ really _ did a number on you and Tuo-bull, huh?” He frowned while Blackstar groaned.   
“Hun, Jonas… he k-killed,” Blackstar paused to cough, sitting up against a tree, "killed o-our friends…” David’s face fell.   
“Wh-what?!” His sadness was quickly replaced with anger. “What gave  _ him _ the right!” He snarled, balling his fists.  The ground suddenly shook, and in the distance a huge skyscraper fell, loud metallic screeches roaring from the destroyed building. Soon, more and more buildings were leveled, fires broke out, and Blackstar could see Jonas and Martin fighting. It didn’t look like Martin was winning.

“What’s… going on…” A shaky voice said from behind. Blackstar turned, and saw Tuo-bull stirring and coughing up blood. He raced over and placed his hands on his brother’s face, gently looking over his brother’s head. “Why… awe we… here…?”   
“It’s going to be alright, Tu-bro. Don’t worry.” Blackstar said, noting a huge gash on Tuo-bull’s scalp.  _ “We need to get you help…” _ Tuo-bull paled, fear in his eyes.  
“B-behind-”

**“Too late to save him now!"** Hands grabbed Blackstar’s shoulders, ripping him from his knees and brother, tossing him aside like a ruined sheet of paper.  **“Now then…”** Blackstar, with the aid of RoseThorn, stood and saw Jonas standing over his sacred stiff brother. Jonas' hands and feet were covered in wet, dripping stardust that was likely Martin’s blood. They were also coated in green and red, making a weird, drippy mess.  
**_“NO! DON’T HURT HIM!”_ ** Blackstar yelled, shaking in rage. Jonas disregarded the scream of his old friend, and delivered a kick to Tuo-bull’s head. The scent became almost overwhelming, and Blackstar had to hold his muzzle to stop him from retching. The tombstone broke as well, breaking the connection Martin had with the physical world. Blackstar gave a strained scream, eyes heavy with tears. The apathetic, red-clad man turned to the grieving Runner, scowling as he lowered his foot.   


“You’re a  _ monster!” _ David cried, hugging his boyfriend tight.  
**“Says the Vampire.”** Jonas lowly snarked, his evil smile growing larger.   
“At least I don't  _ kill _ people!” He rebutted, hissing under his breath. Jonas gave an almost sarcastic nod of the head, eyebrows cocked in a skeptical manner.

RoseThorn suddenly attacked, striking Jonas from behind. She used a tree branch to whack him over the head, but it didn't even make him flinch. He whirled around catching her by surprise, and delivered a swift, side strike to her blood coated stomach with his fist. She gasped loudly, falling back. She was then impaled with the sharp tree branch she used to hit Jonas. Blackstar vomited at the sight, while David gave a startled yelp.  
"G-go to hell." She signed, hands wild and slurred.  
**"Gladly!"** Jonas, taking one last look at the dying girl, turned back to the pair of horrified lovers. 

He smiled, almost immediately lunging at the two. He suddenly disappeared into the canopy of the forest. Time seemed to move slower, the seconds agonizingly passing in wait for the two lovers' killing.  
“Don’t worry, doll, if he-” David was cut off when Jonas appeared again, kicking his head clean off his body.  
**_“DAVID!”_ ** Blackstar screamed, watching his boyfriend’s corpse fall forwards. He caught it, hugging him close and staring daggers at Jonas. “Go to hell!” He cried, tears flowing from his eyes like a hellfire river. “We used to be friends, Jonas!”  
**"Was that what we were? I was under the impression that we were** **_family."_ ** He flexed his fingers, fists loosening then clenching back again. Blood leaked from his hands like it was his own.  
"You're no family of mine, after what you've done." Blackstar frowned. Fuck it, if he was going to die, he'd die with answers. "Why'd you leave Cancer?" Jonas frowned.   
****

**"It's not that easy, Blackstar. We were young and irresponsible. After I discovered I could time travel, I did a lot of fucked up shit. I regretted** ** _nothing_** **that I did, until that night. We met at a bar, I can't remember which one. We danced and sang together, drank until our vision swam with booze… it was lovely. We went back to his place, and let the booze control us."** He sighed, sitting down. **"A one night stand, resulting in twins. I ran after he found me and told me. Turns out that one of them, BlueStar… he got really sick, w-with cancer. Heh… I-ironic, isn't it?"  
** "That's not funny. I saw you. You were there when BlueStar died." Jonas cringed, frowning. "What did you do?"  
 **"I-I stole him for two hours. Just to make his last day happy. 'Course, I didn't tell him I was his dad… Would've been too hard for him to understand… Understand why his dad came back after all that time, not helpin' pay his hospital bills or anythin'... I'm a piece of shit, huh?"** He laughed, and Blackstar's hands trembled as he tasted a foul lie before he spoke.  
 ** _"You're the biggest piece of shit I've ever met."_** His hands moved, striking the man square in the jaw. He felt something crack, Jonas giving a quick gasp. He spat, a tooth falling with blood.   
**"My, my. You've gotten a lot stronger since I've left!"** Jonas gave a huge smile, making Blackstar frown even harder.   
"I swear to the Great Brothers in the sky, I'll kill you."  
 **"Oh, please. I'm still Jonas Rebel Cause Starfall,** ** _you_** **can’t kill me! I'm the same as before, just… changed. Being subjected to a horrific amount of abuse at the hands of your future self will do wonders on your psyche!"** He held up his hands, giving them a small shake. Blackstar felt blank, and he blinked, startled.   
"What do you… mean by that?" He breathlessly asked.  
 **"I mean that when I 'went missing', I actually got kidnapped on the way out of the apartments and my Future Self took me to the future. It wasn't nice."** He said with a cheerful smile. **"I wanted to come back so badly, believe me! I-I just couldn't. He** ** _knew_** **so much, and I doubt he would hesitate to murder me if I ran. Only he would be able to make me die for good."  
** "... Why are you telling me this now? Why after all this time are you telling me this," he paused, looking at his bloodied hands, "this **_shit…_** Why now, why not two years ago?! Why not when you came into my room that night and gave me your blood?"  
 **“Well, that’s the thing! He didn’t want me to be your friend, not at all, because he** ** _hated_** **you. I think he’s jealous of you, because you’re so loved… He broke me down over those horrific two years, takin’ me on ‘excursions’ to test my abilities… They were all hell!”** Jonas smiled wide, eyes pained. **“He told me to come here, change the future so he could merge his timeline with mine… well, more so than it was already.”** Blackstar’s head pounded.  
“And you really want that?” He looked at the madman, who’s eyes darted around.  
 **“Well… Not really!”** He said after a short pause.   
“Then why are you doing this? … Does it make you better than him?” 

Jonas frowned, realization in his eyes. The black shadow that was obscuring his face suddenly lifted, piercing red eyes becoming their regular dull blue hue. He blinked, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. All his colors dulled down, not just his eyes.   
**“Oh my Seventah… what have I done…? What have I done, Curly? I-I’ve done exactly what he wanted- I-I fell into his trap…”** Blackstar stood, and Jonas looked up from between his fingers.  
“Jonas, you have to undo all this.” He waved his hand to the carnage around the two, and Jonas nodded.  
**“I know how we can do that.”** Jonas snapped his fingers, and Blackstar felt himself fall to the floor. Everything around him seemed to disappear, inky blue-blackness overtaking his eyes. It wasn’t like his Visions. All began turning, spinning, and Blackstar clutched his head to make it stop.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm out of touch, You're out of time.

#  **_Chapter Six_ **

_ When he opened his eyes again, he was in a room lined with shelves that held bottles. _

He was seated in a chair, facing a wall. He turned, looking over each of the bottled… things. They all had a glowing, gently pulsating white orb contained in their chambers. The bottles were pristine, not a single flaw on them, and each were clear as glass. The room wasn’t very big, about half the size of Blackstar’s bedroom. There was a small table in the center. A note and a garish looking bottle was on it.  
“Dear Metronome, DS’ container is in need of major repairs. Find the mentioned bottle on the table. Regards, Dani-hell.” There was an addendum at the bottom, written in red.   
**“Curly, take this and smash it! It’ll help you reset the timeline, or somethin’. With hope and kisses, Jonas”**

Blackstar wanted to chuckle at the note, but instead angrily sighed at it. Jonas, despite the years away, still wrote in his silly, childish way, which also meant it wasn't very helpful. Blackstar grabbed the nasty bottle, gingerly, and looked it over. The bottle was cracked, and smelled like booze. The orb inside was glowing a dark blue, but the bottle was orange, turning the whole thing a weird black.

Footsteps outside alarmed Blackstar, causing his shot nerves to go into overdrive. He dropped the container, which smashed onto the cold floor. The glowing thing seemed to disappear, and the handle to the door began to jiggle. He panicked and saw a door leading somewhere else, and raced to it. The main door opened just as Blackstar closed the side door.

He stood in a completely black area, void of color aside from the brown tents that made a city around him. He turned to the building behind him, only to see it, too, was a small tent. It had a heart on the side, a symbol perhaps. Blackstar quirked an eyebrow at this, but a voice ripped him from his thoughts.  
**“Oi! You, wit' the hair! You Blackstar?”** He turned and saw an unfamiliar face. They definitely weren't anything like Blackstar had seen before. They were short, fat, and their left side was black and right side white. They had a huge mane of slightly curly hair, also bisected in hue. They had two demonic horns and a pointed tail, an ‘x’ replacing their right eye, and a huge, sharp toothed smile on their face.  **“Oh it is!”  
** “Uh-” They raced toward him and wrapped him in a huge hug, crushing Blackstar and making his spine pop in a satisfying way, but his battle wounds scream in pain. “O-oh… ow…” He was set down, and the demon smiled wide.  
**“It’s me, ya li’l brother! It’s been too long, mist’a!”** They said in a thick Southern Rock Home accent.  
“I-I don’t know you…? I only have one younger brother, a-and you’re not him.” He rebutted, to which the demon nodded.  
**“Correct! I’m Terry DrawnStar!”** They giggled madly, bringing a hand to their mouth.  **“You’re me half brotha!”** They looked over their shoulder, to the tent with a heart. They shook their head as a shout echoed from the building.  
“You’re Tuo’s-” The kid cut him off with an angry huff and a stomp.  
**“Not Tuo, ya daft cunt! Ya dad, TinySta’! He ‘ad me in anoth’a time!”** They gave another wide smile. Blackstar’s head hurt, it was pounding like fists on a steel table. He gave the demon a confused frown.  
“Another time? What does that mean?” He looked to Terry, whose face fell.   
**“You… don’t know? ‘Ow long ‘av you be’n ‘ere!?”  
** “Two, maybe three mintues…?” They paused, hand to mouth, and mane fluffing up. It reminded him of Jonas, his heart leaping at the thought of his friend- but then crashing when remembering the fight.  
**“Well’a, now ya got'a meet Metr'nome an' get all caught up…"** Blackstar perked up.   
"I've met him- I-I think. Isn't he Bectro's dad?" Terry nodded.   
**"Uh… yeah! Foll'a me, sold'ja!"** They grabbed his hand and began sprinting down the winding paths of tents, not once slowing. 

Though the run was quick, Blackstar was in massive amounts of pain, his muscles sore from the beating and kicks he was dealt; even his back hurt from when he landed on the plaza's rocky floor. He was, needless to say, ecstatic when the mysterious black-and-white demon stopped in front of a large, hospital themed tent. A large, blue and red cross was painted on the side, and on the top of the tent was a cross that was a bright red, a flag on it.

**"This is Metr'nome's 'ome base."** Terry said, parting the flaps to the tent. **"He's the best doct'a this Void's ev'a seen! Well, he's the only** ** _registered_** **one anyway…"** They guided Blackstar in, chemical scents invading his nose. The building was a long but narrow room, lined with empty medical beds and cabinets. A slightly ajar door was near the back, light pouring from the next room.   
**"Oi! Metr'a!"** They called out. **"We got'a sick one!"** A shuffling came from the back, and two men ran up to the front. They weren't human.   


One was in deep purple doctor’s clothes, the sleeves too long for his arms. His head was a fox's skull, cracked and with several bits missing. Sticking out of his eyes were daffodil flowers and bundles of lavender. That made Blackstar very concerned, but nobody else seemed worried. The man was buff and tall, but held himself like he was waiting for a moment to break away. He clasped his hands together, tightly. They were gloved in medical gloves, yet they looked to have faint speckles of blood and ash on them. Despite this fox doctor's height, he was only up to Blackstar’s shoulders.

The other was shorter than the flower fox, but he had a fiercely steadfast look on his face. He wore sky blue nurse scrubs, his charred black arms bare. He had fleshy arms, making the contrast with his face more apparent. He was animal skulled like the man before him, but had a cow skull instead. His lower jaw was missing, leaving his neck exposed. His head was burnt, smelled like marshmallows, and was giving off a smokey trail. His eyes were dark black, nothing being seen from inside his skull.

"You're… not sick!" The purple doctor said, a frantic note in his voice. "You're… injured!" He moved Blackstar to a nearby bed, pushing him down. "You've been in a horrible fight I see…" He muttered, pulling out water and a cloth.  
"I-its fine, sir!" Blackstar said, getting up. "I don't-" His stomach, finally upset at the swift movements, began screaming in pain. The rest of his body echoed the pain, his head the loudest to protest. He doubled over, groaning.  
**"Oi, sold'ja! Why didnnya say annythin! I'd brought ya 'ere sonna!"** Terry said as they pulled up a chair to the left of him, smirking wide.   
“I-I…” He was silenced by Terry’s dismissive shake of the head.  
"Now, then, Blackstar was it? Let's get you examined, and we'll… send you on your way." The doctor calmly said. He pushed on Blackstar gently, making him lay down on the bed. “You can call me Dr. Florida, if you’d like.” He put the cloth, doused with water, on Blackstar’s forehead. His body relaxed, the lavender scent tickling his nose.   
“I guess ya can call me Dr. Michigan.” The blue bovine said, a faint smile on his half-skull. “We’re brothers.” He gestured to Dr. Florida.  
“Ah, yes… Well, Blackstar, I have to ask… How’d you get such injuries…? I’ve only seen stuff like this in… Jonas' fights.” Dr. Florida frowned as he talked, lifting Blackstar’s shirt and examining the bruises; they were in the shape of fists and shoe soles.   
“... I  _ was _ fighting Jonas…” He softly said. Everyone else gasped.  
**“Well, ‘ow daft are ya?! No one fights Jo in their right mind!”**   
“He came t-to us, to fight on his future self’s behalf… I was the only one to s-survive, because he sent me here.” Blackstar explained.  
“... Oh, Blackstar…” Dr. Florida put his hands to his mouth, and Michigan frowned and turned away. Terry’s large smile disappeared, and was replaced with an equally large frown. They sat in silence, as if to mourn those lost.

“Team, I’m back! Some-” A deep voice rumbled out, and everyone turned to the entrance. Metronome was walking in, holding a broken bottle. He stopped when he saw Blackstar on the hospital bed.   
“Metronome!” Dr. Michigan raced over, wrapping him in a big hug. Metronome gave him a small hug and moved to Blackstar’s side. He set the shards on the table nearby.  
“What are you doin’ here?”  
“Jonas sent me h-here.” He paused, watching Metronome’s face fall a bit, only a small, little bit. “H-he killed Bectro.” Everyone held their breath, a tense mood crawling in.  
“He did what?” He sounded confused, but much calmer than Blackstar thought he would. “Why would Jonas murder him?” He turned to Terry, who shook their head and shrugged their shoulders.  
“A-After like, two years of him missing, he ca-came back and started b-beating me and everyone else up.” Metronome frowned.  
“He was missing?” Metronome looked confused, but Blackstar knew that he knew.  
“You were- you STARTED the search parties!” He snarled, suddenly angry. “Don’t lie!” Metronome’s ears folded back and he flinched. Everyone else did too.   
“Ah… I’m not your Metronome, Blackstar. I guess you could me Metronome’s ‘future self’. They call me The Voided Metronome.” Blackstar’s headache worsened, his frown now an angry, fangs bared snarl. He gave a soft growl, and glared at Metronome.  
“Are you evil too?” Metronome’s face turned hurt, ears folded back, and he shook his head.  
“Why, no! I should explain, this place, called  **_The Void_ ** , is a central hub of universes. Many ‘time-lines’ cross here, they’re connected by this, let’s call it a city. Many alternate versions of someone can exist, I see you’ve heard of another Jonas already. That’s another Jonas, true, but not him from the future. It’s him from a different timeline, one I assume where he turned evil. Does that make sense?”   
“A-a little bit.” Blackstar nodded, leaning back into the pillow as Metronome smiled.   
“Timelines can be confusing, but don’t hesitate to ask about anything you need help with. But, enough about that, you need to get treated!”

With the medicine received, timelines researched, and a strangely empty tent claimed, Blackstar was feeling less stressed. He learned the place he was in was indeed called  _ ‘ _ **_The Void_ ** _ ’ _ , and it was dangerous to leave the city without a partner, due to the risk of 'monster attacks' and getting lost. That was the extent of his knowledge, though.  
He was alone in his tent, resting on his bed, when he heard voices just outside of the entrance.  


_ “And, what if he doesn’t succeed? There’s no telling if R.C will be willing to spare the poor kid again. Can’t even guarantee he’ll remember his humanity.” _ That voice was new, one without a face.

_“Dani, don’t be so loud. He’ll be fine, I have faith in that boy.”_ That was Metronome’s voice, hushing the other swiftly. Blackstar got off his bed and peeked his head out of the entry. Metronome was there, and also a tall, thin, fair skinned, blonde haired woman. She had a scaled horn sticking from her hair, with two horse ears to go along with it. She also had a unicorn’s tail. All three animal parts were a dark and earthy red. She wore a simple red tuxedo, with a red mask over her eyes.  
“Ah, Blackstar! How are you?” Metronome stole a nervous glance at the woman he was with.  
“Good. A-are you going to be takin' me back to my own timeline?” The two nodded.   
“Ah, well… Not _us,_ but we think it’s better if we do it soon. There’s no telling what Jonas has been doing in that timeline, and we don’t want it to be completely destroyed.” Metronome said, turning to his companion. The woman nodded softly.  
“Though your physical training is weak,” Blackstar frowned, “your words seem to have a paralyzing effect on people. You must talk the fight out with Jonas.” She gave Blackstar a soft smile, but the joy didn’t reach her dull orange eyes.  
“I’ll try, but Jonas sent me here, and told me I needed that bottle I accidentally smashed to help reset the timeline.” Metronome laughed and Dani sighed.  
“So _that’s_ why that was destroyed. That was a… containment chamber for a certain person’s spirit.” Dani shook her head again, shoulder length hair smacking Blackstar’s muzzle. “But I sure as hell can’t find that sneaky son’v’a bitch, so I guess,” she smiled darkly, “you can do that.” Blackstar felt unnerved.  
“Alright-”  
“Here,” she thrust a bottle in his hands, “take this, and when you see the spirit, stick it in here.”   
“Ma’am, what does it even look like? W-what even is a spirit?” Blackstar gave her a desperate, puppy-dog eyed frown. Metro nodded, moving to Blackstar’s side.  
“It would be a whole lot easier if he had, oh I dunno, an explanation?” The old wolf’s face split into a wide smile. Dani sighed, relenting.   
"A spirit is basically a glowing orb. You must find it before it can form into its original shape, or else it'll shatter within 24 hours. Which means nothing, because this is **_The Void_** , and time isn't relevant here." She dug her hand into her suit, taking out a picture. It was of a small, white and blue orb, suspended inside a gorgeous bottle. "This is the spirit you need to find." She shoved the picture into his hands. "May Seventah walk with you." She muttered before stalking off, tail smacking him on the face as she left.   


"Ah, don't take her brashness to heart, she means well. Good luck, dear Blackstar." Metronome purred, giving him a loving lick on the face. He too ran off, leaving Blackstar to look at the bottle’s picture with a deepening confusion. The bottle was blue, beautiful golden swirls and writing painted on the surface. A name was on the center, 'TinyStar 'DetectiveStar' Starr'. He gulped, hands shivering. He looked at the photo, seeing the name on the bottom was the same as on the bottle. 

Blackstar’s searching took him all throughout  **_The Void_ ** , never taking him to his target. Desperate times called for desperate measures, so when nobody was looking, Blackstar left the city by himself.  He saw that there was nothing beyond the tent city. The city suddenly disappeared, quickly being covered by the deep murky haze of  **_The Void._ ** Blackness stretched around him, so bright and yet so dark. It hurt his eyes, and a loud silence rang in his ears. He collapsed, falling on his knees. The pain was unbearable, and his mind flashed with so many Visions. He put his hands to his head, nails digging into his skin.  He saw himself, bawling his eyes out and cussing like a St. Water’s Port kid. He saw a boy that looked like Tuo-bull being talked to by a gigantic mountain lion, a spirit orb held between them. He saw… _ he saw… oh how he saw such horrible visions!   
_ Blackstar wanted to gouge his eyes out, to stop the sights. He reached for the bottle he had with him and raised it over his head. Suddenly, Blackstar heard a soft gasp, and felt a hand grab his wrist. He turned around, arm lowering.

**_“DAD?!”_ ** Blackstar couldn’t believe his eyes. He smiled wider with each beat of his wild heart. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised that he found him, but the shock of seeing him in the flesh took over his rationality.   
His father was gripping his wrist, his chest holding a white orb where his heart should've been. His face was grim, concerned, but also sleepy. He was glowing softly, white fog trailing off of him. His skin was pale white, his hair a triumphant bronze. The scar over his eye was faded red, and his left eye was a piercing orange hue. He was… much shorter than Blackstar remembered. Blackstar stood up, his father releasing his wrist. 

**“Li’l Squid?”** He softly asked, voice bringing joyful tears to the son’s eyes.  **“What’s wrong?”** Blackstar pounced on his father, grabbing him into a huge hug.   
“I-I missed you so much- oh, Great Brothers in the skies, how I missed you!” He sighed loudly, holding his father off the ground and close to his chest. He felt his dad’s heart beating steadily against his trembling own. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you!”  
**“S-slow down, son, I just woke up!”** Blackstar placed his dad back down. TinyStar stood barely up to his chest, head barely reaching his pecs. He looked up to his massive son, a soft frown on his face. Blackstar saw that the scar ran through his lips, a jagged lightning bolt accompanied by a single slit on his father's throat.  **“Now, run that by me ‘gain?”** Blackstar resisted the urge to lean down and squat, like he did with his boyfriend.  
“W-well… one, I missed you. Two, where have you been?” TinyStar nodded, thinking.   
**“Ah, one, I’ve been gone for an hour, at most. Two, I’ve been in the hospital, from what I can remember.”** Blackstar paused, frowning. He was puzzled, did his father seriously not remember dying?  
“... Dad, it’s been so long… Almost four years, I think.” He said.  
**“What do you mean?”  
** “You’ve been dead for four years, dad.” He repeated, sighing. "Three years after Dav- Clades passed, you died. Then three more years passed… Today is the anniversary of your passin'…" His father’s face fell, and he seemed to shrink in on himself.  
**“I don't… I don't understand… I-I was just asleep two minutes ago!"  
** “I… think I know who can help you understand, dad." He said, standing straighter. He looked past his dad, seeing the city return from the fog of  **_The Void_ ** . He grabbed his father’s hand and started to run back to the tent city.  The bottle meant to contain his father was left behind.

They talked, but the results weren't what Blackstar expected. He huffed at his father, who was snoring loudly on his chest. The conversation repeated in his mind. His father was taken to meet Metronome, who gave the Runner a lecture about his predicament. His father understood little, but just rolled with it, it seemed.  
Blackstar looked at the smaller adult, who was out cold. They were supposed to be preparing for the trip back to their timeline, but Blackstar sat down and TinyStar fell asleep on his chest. He didn’t want to go back to the timeline, not now. His father was fully alive again, courtesy of Metronome’s godly healing powers, so the risk of Jonas re-destroying everything Blackstar loved was through the roof. He felt his dad shift on his stomach.

**“Ngh-”** Blackstar jumped at his dad’s voice.  
“Dad?” His dad sat up and stretched, yawning. He was fully awake, a warm smile on his sharp muzzle.  
**“... Did I fall asleep?”** Blackstar felt his eyes grow heavier. He just wanted to lay back down and go back to bed. He didn’t want to face Jonas again, not with everything on the line. He just sighed though, and nodded.  
“Yeah. We should get ready, now that you’re awake.” TinyStar nodded, climbing down to the floor with Blackstar following.

They were about to leave when a person ‘knocked’ on the tent’s flaps.  **“Hey, Blackstar?”** He looked up from where he was, and he broke out into a large grin.

"Mr. Strength!" The titular man smiled sheepishly.  
**"Yes'sir."** Blackstar laughed and wrapped the short man in a big hug.  
"It's you- it's really you!" He was overwhelmed with joy, but flatlined when he realized. "Why are you here?"  
**"... Long story, kid. I, uh, used to work with Jonas. Before you, or even your dad were born, Trackstar an’ I worked here in the Void. We were tasked with keepin' timelines from dyin' and being unjustly destroyed. We both retired years ago, but now… I kinda wish we hadn't."** Blackstar was confused.  
"I… don't understand?" He said, sighing. Mr. Strength nodded, and frowned.   
**"I knew you wouldn't."** Blackstar looked at the human, taking in his features. 

He had a single eye, his left a cartoon 'X'. The right was a deep blue, similar to the strange mask he wore. His head sported two small horns, grey and on his forehead. He noticed that Mr. Strength's skin was dark, brownish-tan, common for other humans in the City. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he did wear a pair of high-waisted sports pants. He saw scars on his chest, claws, bitemarks, and gunshots maring his flesh. His hands were gloved, paw-like gloves that had a tiger pattern, and his shoes the same.  
“So, are you just here to give backstory, or…?” Mr. Strength laughed, shaking his head.  
**“Not’a chance in** **_Hell_ ** **. I’m here to go back with ya.”  
** “To my timeline? I thought I’d just leave with dad.”  
**"You were gonna, but Metronome wants me t’ go home. An’ well, no one told ya, but it takes a powerful, uh, ‘resource’, I guess, t’ take more than one person back in time. But ya definitely won't like** **_him_ ** **, nobody really does…"  
** "I don't care, who is it?" Blackstar grinned. The sooner they left, the more time he had to spend happily with his father.  
**"Markus Dean.”** Mr. Strength spat out the name like it was taboo to even think of it.  **“He’s your half-brother. More like half abomination, that kid gives me the shivers somethin’ fierce…”  
** "... How many siblings do I have?”  
**"Oh, 'bout… 5, ‘least those’re the ones waitin’ fer ya."** Blackstar backed up, floundering for a response.  
"Ho-how in the world?"  
**"Well, they're not all from** **_your_ ** **timeline, dumbass!"** Mr. Strength snarked, a playful smile on his face.  **"Many people come int' this city from oth'a timelines, an' some just so 'appen to be related t' ya."  
** “I-I see. I think I’m ready for this, Mr. Strength.”  
**"Alright. Well, uh, let's get you home."**

Finding Markus and the rest wasn't hard. They were in the center of  **_The Void_ ** , a large plaza with a wolf fountain in the center. It was the same one from the school, however it wasn't destroyed. A large, furry, white lizard was laying in the plaza, snoring loudly. TinyStar looked over to the sleeping beast and nudged Blackstar.  
"Huh? Oh, is that Markus?" Blackstar asked, to which Mr. Strength shook his fluffy head.   
**"The dragon? No, that's Ragnick."** The trio was approached by four people. One was a bipedal she-wolf. Her curly fur was a light purple, and her upper face was covered by a mask. She wore an orange skirt decorated with yellow stars. She looked annoyed.

A second lady was in a sleek wheelchair, her legs that of a teal mermaid's tail. She was dark skinned with shocking white hair, and had two white rabbit ears to match. She looked more bored than anything.

A tall, creepy looking Runner was standing behind the she-wolf, right eye like a black spiral, and the left one wide and the pupil shrunken. He wore a disturbing smile, matched with his pale, white skin and jet black hair. He had an eye-hurting yellow shirt on, contrasting harshly with the Void's blue-black sky. He was taller than Blackstar. His expression was impossible to read, neither happy nor sad.

The fourth was Terry, looking nervous and anxious.

"Blackstar Starr, I assume?" The she-wolf stuck her paw out, her voice a mix of Rock Home and St. Water's Port. "Pleasure t’ meetcha, though I hate the circumstances."  
“Yeah, uh, l-likewise!” Blackstar shook her paw, eyes not leaving the creepy boy’s smiling face.  
“Call me Orchid. I’ll be comin’ with ya and yer dad t’ yer timeline.”  
"W-wait you’re going with us?" Blackstar frowned and looked at the wolf-woman.   
"We all are." She placed a hand to her hip. “Did Strength not tell ya?”  
“No, he just said I needed to speak with Markus?” The strange boy perked up.   
**“That’z me!”** His voice was annoying like a buzzer, and as straining as a voice coming over a school’s intercom. He seemingly smiled wider, though Blackstar couldn’t comprehend it if he did.  **“Iz zo nice to meet you, brother!”**   
“I-it’s nice to meet you too, M-Markus.” Mr. Strength was right. He was definitely half abomination, if not more.   
**“Now, you’ve met Terry already?”** Markus asked, gesturing to the shorter-in-comparison demon. When he got a nod, he moved his hand to the rabbit-mermaid.  **“Then thiz iz Eileen! Zhe’z the zweetezt perzon in the world!”** Eileen gave a small smile.  
“Glad you think so, Mark. Now, come here.” She wheeled closer to Blackstar and put her arm around his waist and made him look at the large white dragon. “This is my twin. He’s dead asleep right now, and I want you to wake him up.” She gave him a sly, evil smile. “Good luck! Don't get eaten!” She then shoved him, pushing him closer to the massive dragon. He looked to Orchid, who nodded at him. She then turned to talk to Mr. Strength and TinyStar.

Blackstar made his way to the front of the dragon’s head. He was enormous, though the breath he spewed was ice cold. He put his hands on the dragon’s snout, to which he opened his eyes. They were a bright red, though they were tired. They were larger than Blackstar’s head, and had a slit for a pupil.  The dragon lifted his head, revealing a fluffy, grey beard on his face. He yawned, stretching out his massive limbs. He had to have been 20 feet tall at the shoulder, maybe 30+ feet with his head and horns combined. He was also 20 or so feet long, from tail tip to the end of his snout.

"Ya must be Blackst'r." He grumbled. His voice was deep and made Blackstar's body shake. He pressed his snout closer, getting a good sniff of his brother.  
"Yes, you’re Ragnick?" Ragnick smiled and nodded. He sat and curled his long, fuzzy tail around his body, tucking his legs in.  
“That I am. It’m honor t’ meet’cha, Starry.” He gave the small Runner a tired smile, rubbing his face with his massive paw. “Did’m sister send ya?”   
“Yeah, we might be leaving soon.” Blackstar. Ragnick nodded, eyes closing then snapping open, like he had a hard time keeping them open.  
"Alright, th'nk ya, sir. Though I was havin' th' most ples'nt dream…" He yawned, his breath billowing out like he was breathing a cloud.   
"What exactly are you, if I may ask?" Blackstar said, to which Ragnick hummed in thought.   
"'M a half mer-rabbit, half ice drag'n. Though, bein' a drag'n is pretty rare. That's why m' sist'a's a mer-rabbit." He smiled softly at Blackstar, laying his massive head back down.   
"O-oh?" Ragnick nodded, and a hand tapped Blackstar's shoulder. He turned and saw the creepy kid- Markus, smiling at him. He instinctively jumped, to which Markus didn't react.  
**"We're ready when you are! I can't wait until we go back, I wanna zee what your timeline lookz like!"** He smiled wider, and Blackstar thought his mouth would stretch off his face.   
"O-okay, uh, M-Markus...!" He nervously mewled, and he went to where Eileen and the rest were standing by the fountain. Ragnick and Markus followed.

Orchid heard them approach, and turned to smile at them. She turned to Blackstar.   
"You ready to go home an' fix all this?" He took a deep breath in, looked around at the dark  **_Void_ ** , and nodded.   
"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's give this fight another try."

Markus slipped his hand into Blackstar's, then into Ragnick's fur. Everyone then formed a circle, linking hands, paw, and fur together. Markus started to mutter something as the world became brighter and more colorful. Blackstar's mind started spinning as the colorful hues overtook his sight and muffled everything, and he felt himself collapsing.


End file.
